Roman Aubergine Glass Bottle with Iridescence

Blue glass disc with white glass past overlay imitating onyx, showing the nurturing of baby Dionysos, raised by nymphs on Mount Nysa: the infant god standing on the lap of a nymph, another standing right, Silenus standing left and leaning in on the scene, a tree in the background; set into a later gold setting with applied wire scrolls and tendrils on the sides with an applied filigree band below, wide loop above fronted by an applied decorative plaque set with a garnet cabochon. 21.36 grams, 48 mm



Private collection of a London gentleman, acquired between 1965-2020. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Ittai Gradel. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12680-235465. 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.

Dr Ittai Gradel writes: 'Cameos with Dionysiac motifs were especially popular in the mid- to later first century BC, and the prolific workshop of the gem carver Sostratos specialized in such motifs (see I. Gradel, ‘A tale of two fragments: a Sostratos cameo reconstructed’, The Burlington Magazine 162 (March 2020), 181-87). The original, lost stone cameo, from which this glass version was cast, belongs in this period and ambience. The glass cast was presumably contemporary with the original cameo, possibly slightly later, but the glass is in any case clearly ancient (corrosion, iridescence).'

Comprising: a fragment of a glass pendant with impressed image of an advancing lion, crescent moon above; a conical agate intaglio with a profile of theatre mask; an oval carnelian intaglio with a dove holding an olive branch; a jasper intaglio with standing Asclepius holding a snake-staff. 4.35 grams total, 10-17 mm



Norfolk family collection, 1940s-1960s; thence by descent. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Plate brooch with pin-lugs, pin and catch to reverse, formed as a galley with ramming beam in the prow, high stern and anchor below. 11.9 grams, 44 mm



Ex important German collection of brooches, 1980s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.