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LOT 0818
Roman Black Onyx Gemstone with Oxen
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
3/8 in. (0.62 grams, 11 mm).
Engraved with two bulls lying side by side, one with the head in profile, the other facing, tree to the field.
ProvenanceAcquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s.
Important North West London collection.
See Richter, G.M.A., Catalogue of engraved gems of the classical style, New York, 1920, for similar late Minoan iconography; for identical Roman iconography see Furtwängler, A., Die antiken Gemmen: Geschichte der Steinschneidekunst im Klassischen Altertum, Leipzig and Berlin, 1900, fig.2, pl. XLV.
FootnotesThe iconography of two bulls derives already from Achaean models, like the black onyx example in the Metropolitan Museum (Richter, 1920, pl.2,no.3). The model was inherited by the classical world, and inherited from the Greeks by the Romans (Furtwängler mentions gemstones in carnelian, nos.5547-5548-5549 at the Berlin Museum).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0818
Roman Black Onyx Gemstone with Oxen
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
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Roman Bronze Tortoise Figure
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Ex UK private collection. Acquired at the London Coin Fair in the early 1990s. Property of a Buckinghamshire, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Gemstone with Goddess Demeter
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Opening Bid: £333
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1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Modelled in the round with naturalistic detailing, standing on base with wings closed. 25.3 grams, 37 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.
