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LOT 0112
Late Roman Gold Ring with Facing Birds
CIRCA 5TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (14.42 grams, 24.86 mm overall, 17.53 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P 1/2, USA 7 3/4, Europe 16.86, Japan 16)).
With a heavy round-section hoop thickened at the base, lentoid bezel with ropework border and two opposing cockerels. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceBelieved to have been acquired at Christie's.
Property of a North American gallery.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12109-214332.
See Roman Animals, Classical Art Research Centre, University of Oxford, green jasper gem, no.94, for similar motif; and a mosaic in the Naples National Archaeological Museum; see also Feider, M.P., Chickens in the Archaeological Material Culture of Roman Britain, France and Belgium, Bournemouth, 2017, fig.4.43,7.9, for images of cockerels on Roman rings and intaglios.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp with Erotic Scene
Circa 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
Squat burnished pottery lamp with stub nozzle, high-relief scene of two lovers on a couch; maker's mark 'LMVNSVC' to the underside. 64 grams, 95 mm
From the collection of French archaeologist Suzanne Gozlan (1921-2022).
The lamp belongs to the Bailey type B group ii (Loeschke type IV), usually dated from Tiberian to Trajanic times. Erotic lamps were particularly popular before the Christianisation of the Roman Empire. Roman sexuality differed considerably from later Christian European attitudes. Roman religion promoted sexuality as one of the fundamental aspects of prosperity for the entire state; individuals could turn to private religious practice, or even magic, to improve their erotic life or health and reproductive capacity; moreover, prostitution in ancient Rome was legal, public and widespread. Artistic subjects that today we would define without hesitation as pornography, were present among the art collections of the most respectable and high status Roman families. -
Roman Bronze Phallic Amulet
1st century A.D.-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Appliqué formed as male genitalia, hollow to the reverse with fixing peg. 52.5 grams, 40 mm
Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent. -
Roman Bronze Vulcan Statuette
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Standing wearing a tunic draped from the left shoulder and a conical hat, left arm extended at shoulder-height; mounted on a custom-made stand. 110 grams total, 71 mm including stand
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
