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LOT 0901
Roman Bone Gaming Dice Pair
1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
1/2 in. (7.05 grams total, 12-13 mm).
Pair of cuboid dice with ring-and-dot markings disposed 1:6, 2:5, 3:4. [2, No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp Collection
2nd-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Comprising eight lamps, including one with four nozzles and a crescentic reflector, one wth a bust of a young woman, and one with a five-petalled flower. 867 grams tptal, 4.5-17 cm
From an important collection of lamps, Germany, 1970s. -
Roman Ovoid Lamp with Annular Decoration
Holy Land, circa 3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Low body with a large filler hole and ribbed thumb-pad, the body decorated with low-relief annulets. 59 grams, 81 mm
Ex Ancient Art Shop, Windsor, UK, 1990s. Ex private West County, UK, collection. -
Roman Carnelian Gemstone with Stork Emerging from a Seashell in Gold Ring
1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,510
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.
