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LOT 0747
Roman and Byzantine Bronze and Silver Ring Group
1ST CENTURY A.D. AND LATER
1/2 - 1 in. (32 grams total, 15-25 mm).
Comprising finger rings of various types and sizes, most with bezels with decorative motifs, including: a cross with pellet in each quarter; an inscribed panel with dashes and X motifs; a hatched oval; raised flower head; spiraling oval and a feathered cross, together with other enigmatic designs. [8, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the Sullivan family collection, UK; acquired since 2003.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Roman Period Blackware Bowl
Circa 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Comprising a hemispherical black-glazed terracotta body with slightly everted rim, raised circumferential bands to the shoulder, small raised foot, flat bottom. 274 grams, 12.5 cm wide
Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance.
The most interesting feature of this bowl is that its whole outline suggests that it has been copied from a Terra Sigillata bowl of type Dragendorff. The moulded figures of the decorated original were, however, probably outside of the craftsman's range, and in places the surface of the bowl is covered with a crudely executed ornamented band. -
Roman Silver Standing Eagle Statuette
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Modelled in the round with naturalistic detailing, wings held slightly open. 10.9 grams, 34 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. -
Roman Chalcedony Gemstone with Aphrodite Kallipygos
1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
The goddess seen from behind, drapery around her legs, resting her left hand on a column and holding up an object in her right hand. 0.84 grams, 12 mm
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Important North West London collection.
The famous statue of Aphrodite Kallipygos, the model for this gemstone, recalls a story reported in the Deipnosophists of Athenaeus regarding the foundation of a temple to her in ancient Syracuse. According to Athenaeus, two beautiful sisters from a farm near Syracuse quarrelled over which of them had the most shapely buttocks, and approached a young passer-by to judge. They showed themselves to the traveller, the son of a rich man, and he voted for the older sister. Later, he fell in love with her and fell ill with lovesickness. Upon learning of what had happened, the man's younger brother went to see the girls and fell in love with the younger sister. Consequently the brothers refused to consider any other brides forcing the father to arrange for the sisters to come and marry them. The townspeople nicknamed the sisters ‘Kallipygoi’ (‘Women with Beautiful Behinds’) and the young men, with their newfound prosperity, dedicated a temple to Aphrodite, naming her ‘Kallipygos’.
