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LOT 0593
Roman Blue-Green Glass Ampulla
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
4 1/2 in. (81 grams, 11.6 cm high).
Slightly concave base, a piriform body with tapered shoulders, a lightly corseted neckline beneath a cylindrical neck, and a splayed rim with an in-folded lip.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Cf. Filarska, B., Szkla Starozytne (Ancient Glass) II vol., Warszawa, 1972, II, cat.116, pl.XXVI,2, for similar vessel.
FootnotesThe ampulla was, in Ancient Rome, a small round vessel, usually made of glass and used for sacred purposes. The term can also refer to later flasks, often flatter and without handles, typically used as pilgrim souvenirs. Materials include glass, ceramics and metal. An unguentarium is a bottle believed to have been used to store perfume. Such vessels were often produced in Gaul.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Roman Bronze Silenus Figurine
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,400
Standing nude with vine-leaf wreath on the brow, muscular physique, dressed beard and stern facial expression, holding a bunch of grapes in the left hand; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 104 grams, 65 mm high (127 grams total, 71 mm high including stand)
Private Swiss collection, acquired 2001. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11621-199008.
Silenus was closely associated with the Dionysian cult. He was a deity associated with the forest, wine, drunkenness, the treading-dance of the wine press as an orgiastic ritual. While intoxicated, Silenus was believed to possess the power of prophecy. He helped raise the god Dionysus, son of Zeus, after he was entrusted to him by Hermes. Once, while travelling with Dionysus through Phrygia, Silenus was captured by King Midas who treated his captive hospitably. As a reward, Dionysus granted the king his famous 'golden touch'. The sacred animal of Silenus is the donkey, the mode of transport he often used according to Greek mythology. -
Roman Red Jasper Gemstone with Gryllos
2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £598
Oval in shape; the main subject of the gryllos a youth wearing a horse-head topped helmet, the body a ram's head holding an ear of corn in its mouth, the legs and tail that of a cockerel. 0.34 grams, 11 mm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
According to Plutarch, grylloi had apotropaic properties to ward off the evil eye. -
Roman Tinned Bronze Boar Brooch
3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £176
With a deep bow, the footplate formed as the stylised snout of a boar, the neck bristles formed as a band of openwork loops on the bow; hinged pin. 14.7 grams, 51 mm
Found Essex. Property of an Essex, UK, detectorist.
