Roman and Other Mixed Bead Group

Restrung, composed of graduated stone and glass beads of various types, predominantly in shades of white and cream. 29 grams, 64 cm long

Fine condition.

Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.

The upper body, neck and head of a mythical basilisk (cockatrice), modelled in the round with the body of a serpent and head of a cockerel, the body with a tapering round-section profile, stylised detailing to the head. 260 grams, 88 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.

The basilisk, known from the Renaissance onwards as a cockatrice, was a Graeco-Roman mythical two-legged dragon or serpent-like creature with a cock's head. It had the reputed ability to kill people by either looking at them, touching them, or sometimes breathing on them. According to legend a cockatrice would die instantly upon hearing a rooster crow, and having a cockatrice looking at itself in a mirror was one of the few sure ways to kill it.

The section comprising square and rectangular tesserae set into Roman cement; held in a wooden frame with identification plaque. 4.1 kg, 33.3 cm wide



From a 19th century collection based on the bone plaque and frame. From an old collection of antiquities built up by a family in Newark, Nottinghamshire, UK.

This floor section was originally found presumably near the the site of Ad Pontem, a large walled Roman town on the outskirts of Newark.