Roman and Other Ancient Bead Group

Fragment of a potter's mould for the production of decorative tableware, with upper band of rosettes, fronds and other motifs within frilled borders, and on the angled body frond, shell and repeated motif of a leaping lion on a base with 'M·C·M' legend; supplied with a modern impression from the mould. 227 grams total, 10.4-11 cm



Found Suffolk, UK. From an old English collection. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

The lion was also the badge of several Roman legions, such as XVI Flavia Firma, XIII Gemina, XVI Gallica.

A bifacial oval-shaped carnelian gemstone with bevelled edge, the obverse engraved with a scene composed of multiple figures standing on a ground line, crescent moon between two stars above, from left possibly the god Helios (or Serapis) being crowned by Victory, the central standing figure of Isis holding a cornucopia, fronted by an eagle holding a wreath in its beak, crowned by another winged Victory; partial inscription below; reverse bearing five lines of later inscribed text, in Hebrew script; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 2.11 grams, 20 mm



Acquired 1970-1999. Property of a late London Mayfair gentleman, by descent. Acquired on the UK 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.

Worked in high-relief with hairstyle typical of the transitional period from the Consulate to the Empire; oval face with a prominent forehead, oval eyelids and clearly defined lines around the eyes; hair arranged in vertical lines combed back from the forehead; pronounced lips, typical rendering of the wide auricles; the lower part of the tunic visible with a well defined round edge around the neck; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 5.94 kg total, 22.5 cm high including stand



Acquired from Gallery Gryphos, Munich, 1992. European private collection. 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 search certificate number no.11996-211878. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

The head was probably pertinent to a series of funerary family portraits. It has realistic modelling of male features, which speaks of a portrait in reduced dimensions or a reference to a well-known person in the environment where it was exhibited. The portrait is worked only on the front, leaving the back, as well as the lower part of the sculpture, roughly treated.