Miscellaneous Vintage Pin Badge Collection

Including brass screw-thread type, 'Seager's London Gin' advertising type and others. 239 grams total, 6.5-11.5 cm



From the private collection of a Kent, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Replica of marble statue of Augustus discovered in 1863 in Prima Porta, depicted in advancing pose wearing a military cuirass with mythological scenes, toga draped from the waist over the left arm, barefoot with statuette of Cupid seated on a dolphin beside his right leg; mounted on a custom-made tiered stand. 6.45 kg total, 40.8 cm high including stand



From the private collection of a S.W. London gentleman, acquired in the 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

An elegant 19th century detailed replica of the marble statue of Augustus discovered in 1863 during archaeological excavations at the Villa Livia owned by Augustus's wife, Livia Drusilla, at Prima Porta on the Via Flaminia, 12km north of Rome. The original full-length statue portrays an idealised image of Augustus in the role of imperator, commander of military forces, in contrapposto stance derived from Greek athletic statues of the 5th century BC. This statue represents Augustus in the act of adlocutio, addressing his troops, also seen on the reverse of the dupondii of Germanicus (RIC Gaius 57). Augustus is represented as a great general, a powerful orator, eternally youthful, with the body of a Greek athlete, with a support statuette of Cupid seated on a dolphin alluding to his divine ancestry from Venus through his formal adoption by Julius Caesar. The main element of the statue is the highly decorated cuirass with sphinx-decorated shoulder straps and paludamentum covered with figures arranged in three sections: Caelus, or sky-god at the apex; below him the sun-god Sol in his four-horse chariot and Aurora riding on the back of a female celestial personification; central section with figures of Hispania on the extreme left and another captive female, possibly Gallia, to the right; beneath, Apollo with lyre riding on a winged griffin and Diana on the back of a stag, with Tellus (Mother Earth) cradling two babies below, all framing the most important figures of the cuirass: on the right a Parthian military warrior (identified as Phraates IV) holding a Roman standard towards a helmeted and cuirassed Roman soldier accompanied by a she-wolf or dog (identified as Augustus-Aeneas, Tiberius, Mars or the personification of exercitus Romanus, the Roman army, an allusion to the return of the Roman standards in 20 BC, captured by the Parthians from the Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus after his ignominious defeat at Carrhae in 53 BC. The statue thus commemorates Augustus’s victory over Parthia. Augustus made much of this, the first significant victory after Actium in 31 BC. Historical sources state that Phraates IV restored the standards to Augustus in 20 BC, although Suetonius reports that it was Tiberius who served as the intermediary for the transfer (Tiberius 9.1).

Tempera on wood panel, on a golden background, erect figure in three-quarter view in dark cowl and habit, holding a staff in both hands; halo ornately punched; the staff with nimbus finial surrounding majuscule legend 'CHA/RI/TAS' ('love, charity'); transverse mounting block to reverse and holes for another. 168 grams, 18.5 x 13 cm



Acquired on the European art market. Private collection, London, UK. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Francis of Paola (1416-1507) was an Italian monk and the founder of the Order of Minims, a religious order focused on humility, penance, and charity. Born in Paola, Calabria, he was known for his ascetic lifestyle and deep spirituality. Francis was credited with performing miracles, including healing the sick and even crossing the sea on his cloak. He became a spiritual advisor to King Louis XI of France in his final years. Canonized in 1519, Francis of Paola is venerated as the patron saint of sailors and fishermen, symbolising humility and devotion to God.