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LOT 0101
Late Roman Silver 'Huntsman' Bow Brooch
5TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/2 in. (28 grams, 65 mm).
Comprising a circular headplate with pointillé tendril ornament, and three radiating lugs, each with a flared collar below; deep D-section bow with boar-head modelling including open mouth and tusks, bristles and pricked ears; parallel-sided chamfered edges, recurved finial with dog-head detailing and teardrop dangle in the mouth; spring and pin to the reverse.
Provenancewith Artemis Gallery, Münich, before 1998.
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 2001.
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.12226-222179.
See Harhoiu, R., Der Schatzfund von Simleul Silvaniei und die Schlacht von Nedao, in Banatica, Bd. 23, (2013), pp. 111-142, for similar; see also D'Amato, R., Salimbeti, A., Post-Roman Kingdoms, 'Dark Ages' Gaul and Britain, AD 450-800, Oxford, 2023, p.53.
FootnotesAs the boar's mouth is modelled open, it is likely that it also had a dangle similar to that of the dog's head. The artistic effect of the brooch is to symbolise the chase, with the boar fleeing and the hound in close pursuit behind. This kind of fibula was used by the Romano-British people of Britannia, as attested by specimens found in Britain (BM inventory no.PRB 1954.12-6.1).
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LOT 0101
Late Roman Silver 'Huntsman' Bow Brooch
Estimate £1,800 - 2,400€2,090 - 2,780 (for guidance only)$2,430 - 3,240 (for guidance only)
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Large Roman Bronze Jug with Handle
3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £520
Piriform in profile with a flared foot and raised collar at the shoulder, everted rim to the mouth with crescent plate to the rear ending in profile avian heads; curved acanthus-leaf with bulb finial forming the thumb-pad, with a swept curve to the strap handle ending in a deer's head at the junction with the body; heavily restored. 1.69 kg, 35.5 cm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman. -
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Roman 'Essex' Bronze Brooch Collection
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Six brooches of various types, including one example with remains of polychrome enamelling; incomplete. 46 grams total, 22-62 mm
Found Essex, UK. -
Roman Bronze Statuette of Diana
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
The goddess advancing in active pose wearing a knee-length tunic gathered below her breasts, her hair tied above her crown; quiver to her right shoulder, right arm bent reaching for an arrow, left arm extended and hand open to grip a bow (absent); mounted on a custom-made stand. 105 grams total, 94 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.
