Late Roman Decorated Silver Boss

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.

Piriform in profile in aqua glass with broad flared neck; applied trails to the neck, dimple base; areas of iridescence. 38 grams, 98 mm



From a London, UK, collection, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Depicted seated with his feet resting on a low stool, left hand raised and once holding sceptre or a staff; a modius crown resting on his curly hair, decorated with three incised olive sprays; dressed in a chiton and a draped himation, with his sandal-clad feet showing from beneath the folds of his garments; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 233 grams total, 12 cm high excluding stand



Private collection, Florida, USA, 1980s. European private collection, acquired in 2002. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.S00019356. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12611-234679. 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.

The facial features are of the bearded Hellenistic type, well known by the features of the seated cult statue from the Serapeum in Alexandria and the prototypes of a number of separated heads or busts which also survive in innumerable copies in all the corners of the Roman Empire. A statue made by the Hellenistic sculptor Bryaxis was the model for this statuette and the successive iconography.