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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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Roman Gilt Bronze Crossbow Brooch
4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
With three faceted knops to the crossbar, the upper one with beaded collar, and pierced moulding to the upper face, deep bow, stepped junction with foot, chamfered edges to foot with integral catch; hinged pin to reverse; Keller Type 3. 58 grams, 80 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
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Roman Marble Head of a Young Man
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £3,500 - 4,500 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,250
Worked in high-relief with hairstyle typical of the transitional period from the Consulate to the Empire; oval face with a prominent forehead, oval eyelids and clearly defined lines around the eyes; hair arranged in vertical lines combed back from the forehead; pronounced lips, typical rendering of the wide auricles; the lower part of the tunic visible with a well defined round edge around the neck; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 5.94 kg total, 22.5 cm high including stand
Acquired from Gallery Gryphos, Munich, 1992. European private collection. 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.11996-211878.
The head was probably pertinent to a series of funerary family portraits. It has realistic modelling of male features, which speaks of a portrait in reduced dimensions or a reference to a well-known person in the environment where it was exhibited. The portrait is worked only on the front, leaving the back, as well as the lower part of the sculpture, roughly treated. -
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Roman Bronze Sitting Squirrel Statuette
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Modelled in the round with naturalistic detailing, sitting upright nibbling a nut. 11.7 grams, 25 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.
