Loading, please wait...
LOT 0786
Roman Bone Gaming Dice
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
1/2 in. (5.42 grams, 14 mm).
With incised ring-and-dot markings disposed 1:6, 2:5, 3:4. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a collection of gaming items, formed 1980-1990s.
LiteratureCf. Allason-Jones, L. & Miket, R., The Catalogue of Small Finds from South Shields Roman Fort, Newcastle, 1984, item 2.82.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
-
.jpg)
Late Roman Imperial Porphyry Fragment
4th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120
Formed as an irregular block with three possibly later polished sides, with the other three sides presenting a descending wall and two hollows carved in the upper and lower part; probably from an Imperial sarcophagus or monument; mounted on a custom-made stand. 10.55 kg, 31 cm including stand
Acquired from the private collection of a Somerset gentleman who was related to Sir Arthur Evans. From the private collection of a UK gentleman since before 2005.
For the Romans, porphyry was the Imperial marble par excellence, and from Constantine the Great until the end of the 5th century, but probably also later, it was used to create sarcophagi for the emperors and members of the Imperial families. This particular stone was connected with the Imperial family because of its red colour, recalling the violet and red shades of the purple (porphyra), the precious colour assigned only to emperors and their relatives. In Constantinople, a room of the Imperial palace was called Porphýra, located on one of the palace terraces overlooking the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus. It was perfectly square in shape with a pyramidal ceiling and was entirely covered in purple porphyry speckled with white dots: this was the room where the empresses gave birth to the heir of the Roman Empire, called Porphyrogénnētos, meaning ‘born in the purple room’. Porphyry was widely used for building churches in the Christian Empire, and Justinian exhausted the supplies from Egypt by building the Great Church of Hagia Sophia, where still today a great amount of this material can be seen. The impressive Imperial sarcophagi were kept in the Church of the Holy Apostles, as well as the great porphyry sarcophagus of Constantine the Great, of which only a small fragment survives today in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul. -
Roman Mosaic Glass Paperweight Pair
2nd century B.C.-1st century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £1,404
A collection of ancient Roman polychrome mosaic glass fragments, set in the 18th-19th century into two rectangular marble bases. 630 grams total, 10.5 x 7.6 - 10.7 x 8.1 cm
Private collection, UK. -
Roman Silver Ring with Palm Branch
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
An interphalangeal ring with an incuse palm branch motif on the bezel. 2.67 grams, 19.40 mm overall, 15.48 mm internal diameter (approximate size British F 1/2, USA 3, Europe 4.3, Japan 4)
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
