Rock Crystal Gaming Dice Pair

Plano-convex in section with pointillé border, two profile busts in low relief. 3.46 grams, 22 mm



Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.

Hollow-form pendant with applied granules and wire decoration. 1.25 grams, 24 mm



Ex London, UK, gentleman's collection, 1980-1990s.

The object finds a good parallel with a pendant of the same shape forming part of a remarkable hoard of late-Roman gold jewellery and silver tableware found near Thetford, Norfolk, in 1979. The jewellery included necklaces and clasps, five pendants, and four bracelets. One pendant takes the shape of a Hercules club, a design often used for earrings.

Modelled in the round figure standing in advancing pose with the right hand raised and fist clenched; left shoulder and arm covered with the skin of the Nemean lion and left hand modelled hollow; hair cut short and textured. 307 grams, 12 cm



Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. 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 a search certificate number no.12515-232159.

There were several cult sites of Hercules in Etruria and old Latium, particularly in the Sabellian region, and the bronze statuettes discovered here exhibit a wide range of styles. Etruscan bronzes of the half-god usually represent him with the lion skin draped over his arm (Metropolitan accession number 96.9.419).