Roman Amber Marbled Glass Vase

An ellipsoid bifacial haematite gemstone with intaglio scenes: obverse with a reaper holding a sickle and cutting down a crop; reverse with a bird, wings spread beneath a glyph. 7.37 grams, 26.8 mm



Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Important North West London collection.

A carved marble herm boundary marker carved in the round as the bust of an adult male wearing a conical cap and with a full beard; dorsal pillar terminating behind the head. 7.3 kg, 31.5 cm high



French collection, 1960s-early 2000s. From an important Paris gallery, France. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11629-199364.

Possibly an architectural element or herm: herma (Ancient Greek: ἑρμῆς, usually called a 'herm' in English), is a sculptured stone block with a head and often a chest above an undecorated lower section on which male genitals may additionally be carved. From the Neolithic period onwards, in parts of Europe, divinities were worshipped in the form of either a heap of stones (cairn) or a wooden column. Piles of stones were created beside roads and at the borders of fields as they were cleared of pebbles, and religious respect was shown through the custom of each passer-by throwing a stone on the heap or offering a libation. In due course, the addition of a carved head (and phallus) to the column encouraged the belief that these monuments were especially favoured by divinities.

The best example of only three examples of this type known, a copper-alloy knee brooch composed of a rectangular-section body, spring pin within bow plate and remains of catchplate to reverse; both sides of the body with two panels of Latin lettering moulded in relief: 'FIBUL[A] EX REG LAGITIENSE', translating to 'Brooch from the Regio Lagitiensis' (Roman Castleford); remains of blue glass enamelling to the recessed fields. 11 grams, 30 mm wide



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Wickham Market, Suffolk, UK, on 24th September 2022. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report with record number: SF-F57791. Accompanied by a copy of an article on Castleford Vicus and a similar brooch found in the Alford area of Lincolnshire, UK.

Castleford is known to have been a regiones, an administrative centre for lands owned directly by the Emperor. Other known regiones in Britain were Bath, Carlisle and Ribchester. Regiones appear to have been administered by military officers of centurion rank. Crucially for our item, Castleford’s status as one of the regiones is known from the separate finds of two metal brooches with the same inscriptions discovered by metal detectorists; one from North Lincolnshire, the other from an unknown find-spot, now our third example, found in Suffolk. The third brooch, offered for sale here, is the best known example of the Castleford (Lagentium) vicus brooch, and the only complete example of the three known to exist. These brooches are seemingly unique amongst Roman artefacts in incorporating the name of their place of production into their decorative scheme. A vicus is the civilian settlement located outside the Roman fort. The triangular-section brooch body possibly alludes to the pitched and tiled roof of a military building. Roman Castleford began life in circa 71 A.D. as a fort constructed as part of the conquest of northern England. The garrison attracted local traders and a small settlement grew nearby. Excavation of this settlement suggests that the inhabitants were making and repairing military equipment for the soldiers, and it is likely that these workshops continued to profit when the fort was abandoned around 100 A.D; Castleford is unusual in this respect, since the Roman army typically demolished their forts once the area had been pacified, at which point, any associated settlements usually disappeared too. At Castleford in contrast, the town remained and continued to prosper, likely because of its port location which facilitated trade with the wider Empire, together with its location on the main road between London and York.