Large Roman Glass Bottle with Wheel-Cut Lines

A youthful and muscular figure of the god Mercury (Greek Hermes) standing nude with his weight resting on his right leg, left leg slightly bent and the heel raised; his hair dressed in short curls, wearing a winged petasos, and a cloak wrapped over his shoulder and left arm, naturalistic anatomical detailing; mounted on a custom-made display base. 298 grams total, 14.3 cm including stand



Swiss private collection, 1970. Private collection, Zurich, Switzerland. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12685-236368. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Modelled in the round as a standing eagle with its wings spread, the overlapping wingtips covering the short tail; incised feather detailing to the body and wings, wide head with detailed eyes, remains of a military insignia (a victory wreath or fish?) held in its hooked beak; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 180 grams total, 76 mm high including stand



Found Kempsey, Malvern Hills, Worcestershire, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.WAW-19C7C8. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Both Ovid and Plutarch place the inception of manipular ensigns with Romulus, where bundles (manipuli) of hay were tied to high poles which served as rallying points for units of the army. Eventually, icons of animals replaced these ensigns: the eagle, wolf, Minotaur, horse, and boar. In 107 B.C., Gaius Marius made sweeping military reforms and the Aquila became the sole standard of the legion, which according to (Pliny NH. 10.5.16) ‘By making the Aquila the standard for all legions improved unity and gave soldiers a symbol that expressed their attachment to an all-encompassing body, to which the soldiers’ loyalty could be directed’. Due to its place at the head of each legion, it became the emblem of the Roman legions, which enforced Roman rule in the provinces, giving the eagle its connotation of dominion.

With pear-shaped body and flat base, cylindrical neck, the rim folded out. 10.9 grams, 68 mm



Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.