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LOT 0128
Late Roman Terracotta Lamp with Christian Fish
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
5 3/4 in. (146 grams, 14.5 cm).
Low discus with two filler holes flanking a low-relief fish in profile, a band of arched fish to the shoulder, lug handle to the rear and a low basal ring.
ProvenancePrivate collection, Tokyo, Japan, 1980s.
Private European collection, 2010.
For these lamps (Atlante type X; Hayes type II) cf.Bussière, J., Lindros Wohl, B., Ancient Lamps in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 2017, p.352ff., for the type.
FootnotesThe so-called Christian lamps in Terra Sigillata Africana (TSA) have been classified by Hayes into two major types, I and II. Lamps of Hayes types I and II, initially produced in Tunisia only, were broadly exported, then imitated throughout the Roman Empire for three centuries; consequently, they are extremely numerous.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0128
Late Roman Terracotta Lamp with Christian Fish
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
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Roman White Gemstone with Alexander the Great and Philosopher Diogenes of Sinope
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Frieze depicting a seated Alexander the Great holding a ring or collar towards a philosopher emerging from a cauldron; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 1.24 grams, 16.27 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
Diogenes of Sinope (c. 412-323 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism. He became famous for rejecting wealth, comfort, and social rules, choosing instead to live with very few possessions. He is often said to have lived in a large ceramic jar in Athens, sometimes described as a barrel or tub. Known for his sharp wit and simple way of life, he is also remembered for telling Alexander the Great to step out of his sunlight. -
Roman Glass Pendant with Portrait
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Cobalt blue discoid pendant with an impressed profile bust. 1.75 grams, 21.78 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Roman Lapis Lazuli Gnostic Gemstone with Aphrodite Anadyomene
4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Ellipsoid in plan with enigmatic Greek legend 'BPE/IMW' to underside, facing figure of Aphrodite Anadyomene to obverse on baseline with Greek legend 'APE IAP', possibly an abbreviation for ΑΡ[ΌΡΙΦ]ΡΑ[Σ]Ι[Σ]. 1.38 grams, 17 mm
Private collection, acquired on the German art market in 1993; thence by descent.
The gemstone belongs to a series of blue gemstones, usually of lapis lazuli or blue glass, showing the famous image of Aphrodite Anadyomene ('rising from the sea'). In some of these gemstones, we find the magical word arôriphrasis, which transliterates an Egyptian title of the goddess Hathor as 'The Lady of the Blue Stone'. Since Hathor and Aphrodite were assimilated in Graeco-Roman Egypt, there is some logic to the appearance of the name and Aphrodite on these stones.
