Roman Black Glass and Other Bead Necklace String

The oval intaglio engraved with a whimsical image of a stork emerging from the mouth of a large seashell, its neck arched forward to seize a small mouse by the tail; set in a finely made 19th-century ring with openwork shoulders; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 4.25 grams, 24.31 mm overall, 19.30 mm internal diameter (approximate size British T, USA 9 1/2, Europe 21.26, Japan 20)



Acquired on the European art market. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13365-257944.

The stork, a bird symbolic in antiquity of vigilance, filial piety, and longevity, here appears in an imaginative fusion with a marine shell—an element often associated with Venus and the sea. The capture of the mouse adds an element of humour and narrative intrigue, perhaps evoking themes of cunning, the triumph of wit, or the unexpected in nature. Such unusual compositions are occasionally found in Roman glyptics of the late Republican period, appealing both for their novelty and symbolic richness.

Ligula with a twisted tapering handle with a sharp finial and a shallow piriform bowl. 8.13 grams, 12.4 cm



Private collection, 1965-1975. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, Suffolk.

Modelled nude and standing on a pedestal, holding a caduceus in his outstretched left hand and wearing a winged hat. 53.7 grams, 88 mm



From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.