Roman Blue Glass Flask with Fine Trailing

A Roman North African terracotta oil lamp with grooved ring handle; discus decorated with the mythological scene depicting Leda and the swan embracing. 77 grams, 10.3 cm



Dr Suzanne Gozlan, thence by descent. Suzanne Gozlan (1921-2022), a doctor of History and Archaeology, served as a professor at the Ecole Normale d'Instituteurs de Chartres and lectured at the University of Paris 4 Sorbonne. Property of a Bristol, UK, gentleman.

In Greek mythology, Leda was the wife of King Tyndareus and queen of Sparta. According to the myth, Zeus, the king of the gods, was captivated by Leda's beauty and appeared before her in the form of a swan. He then either raped or seduced her and impregnated her. The same night, Leda slept with her husband who also impregnated her, as a result of these two unions she laid two eggs, each containing one set of twins. According to later Greek mythology Leda bore Helen (of Troy) and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband.

Plano-convex in profile with chamfered rim, intaglio scene of a horned bull one baseline with a hound attacking it from below; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.90 grams, 13 mm



From a Swiss collection, 1980s onwards. Property of a North London, UK, gentleman.

Discoid appliqué with beaded rim and a repoussé imperial bust to the centre, the bearded male looking right and wearing a laurel wreath and a military cloak. 3.46 grams, 64 mm



Acquired in the early 1990s. From the collection of a London antiquarian. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

The subject is represented as an imperator or field general, recalling the image of a victorious emperor, iconography widely in use in the late Roman Empire.