Loading, please wait...
LOT 0687
Late Roman Iron Branding Signaculum
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
8 1/4 in. (432 grams, 21 cm).
Featuring an elaborate monogram composed of Greek letters M, A, and P; rectangular section bar with tapering cylindrical socket.
ProvenanceAcquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
See Baratta, G., 'Roman Signacula / Una particolare categoria di signacula: marchi per legno, pellame ed animali', in Mayer, M., Olive, G., Baratta, G., Guzman Almagro, A. (ed.), XII Congressus Internationalis Epigraphiae Grecae et Latinae, Barcelona, 2007, pp.99-108, figs.3, 7, for similar stamps.
FootnotesBranding stamps or signacula, in particular those with large single letters, were used for marking livestock to identify the ownership, the breed, the quality and other features of the animal. These signacula were usually made in bronze, but iron examples are also preserved.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0687
Late Roman Iron Branding Signaculum
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
-
Roman Bronze Hattatt Collection Brooch Group
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Comprising: an iron Alesia-type brooch with deep tapering bow, long foot with recurved integral knop, curled hinge; the type of Gaulish origin; mounted on a custom-made display panel stand with Hattatt collection description and further information on a label to the reverse; inked collection number to the reverse of the bow; the other a bronze trumpet brooch with moulded arc decorations on the head, sprung pin moving freely, tapering body with acanthus motif; horizontal ribbing and zigzag motifs, plain underfoot; retaining swivel chain loop with traces of red enamel; collection number to the reverse of the bow. 25.6 grams total, 63-70 mm (82 grams total, 85 mm high including stand)
Alesia type found near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK; trumpet type found in Northamptonshire, UK.
Hattatt remarks of the Alesia brooch: 'In remarkably fine condition for iron, this could well have been worn by one of the Roman invaders.' -
Roman Bronze Crossbow Brooch
4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Comprising three bulbous terminals, slender facetted bow and possible zoomorphic terminal in relief; pin detatched. 36.7 grams, 68 mm
Acquired from an antiques dealer in the early 1990s. -
Large Roman Bronze Basilisk
4th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £278
The upper body, neck and head of a mythical basilisk (cockatrice), modelled in the round with the body of a serpent and head of a cockerel, the body with a tapering round-section profile, stylised detailing to the head. 260 grams, 88 mm
‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection.
The basilisk, known from the Renaissance onwards as a cockatrice, was a Graeco-Roman mythical two-legged dragon or serpent-like creature with a cock's head. It had the reputed ability to kill people by either looking at them, touching them, or sometimes breathing on them. According to legend a cockatrice would die instantly upon hearing a rooster crow, and having a cockatrice looking at itself in a mirror was one of the few sure ways to kill it.
