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LOT 0841
Roman Bone Gaming Die
CIRCA 1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
3/8 in. (1.02 grams, 8 mm).
Cuboid dice with ring-and-dot markings disposed 1:6,2:5, 3:4. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx gentleman collector of antique and antiquity games from Berkshire, UK, having collected for over 20 years.
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 Terracotta Bullae, Tesserae or Token Group
3rd century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
A mixed group of ceramic bullae, tesserae or theatre tokens bearing low-relief motifs, mainly consisting of profile busts of deities. 32 grams total, 14-22 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
The term 'tessera' was used in Roman times to convey the Greek term σύμβολον (token). Small tiles are known as tokens, often shaped like coins, made of metal (copper, lead, iron), clay, bone, wood, or glass, stamped as well as engraved. The tokens, however, are not exclusively coin-shaped, as the Latin term 'tessera' refers to a four-sided shape. Tokens and tesserae seem to have been used both in Athens and Rome for the distribution of goods. According to written sources, the term ‘token’ is identified with credentials of the official authorities. They have also been interpreted as tokens of identity, as entrance tickets to theatre performances, tribunals or assemblies of citizens, archival material of seal engraving, as pawns in games, Charon’s obols and even as amulets. -
Roman and Later Bronze and Silver Ring Group
1st-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
Mixed group of rings comprising: a D-section ring; a ring with angled shoulders and raised circular bezel; a ring with slender hoop and bezel set with a blue intaglio with two figures; a large ring with rectangular bezel with '1888' with a cross above; a ring with large rectangular bezel with faint remains of an inscription; a ring with forked shoulders and the bezel set with a dark green glass intaglio with a low-relief image of a doe before a tree; a ring with an oval pale orange carnelian intaglio bearing an inscription. 32 grams total, 19-28 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Fragment of a Roman Bronze Military Diploma Granted by Emperor Septimius Severus
195 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,300
Issued for a member of the equites singulares Augusti, the emperor’s horse guards; granted by Septimius Severus in the summer of AD 195, during his Parthian expedition; obverse with seven lines of text with well engraved letters: (1) [… IMP] • VI • C[OS …] / (2) [EQVITIBVS Q]VI•INTER•S[INGVLAR MILITAVERVNT CASTRIS] / (3) [NOVIS QVIB]VS PRAEEST [. . .] / (4) [TRIBVNVS QVI]NIS ET VICEN[IS PLVRIBVSVE STIPENDIS] / (5) [EMERI]TIS DIMISSIS H[ONESTA MISSIONE QVORVM] / (6) [NOMINA SVB]SCRIPTA SVNT [CIVITATEM ROMANAM] / (7) . . . + ++ . . . . On the inner face traces of 7 lines of text: (1) [- - -]MAX·TR[IB / (2) [- - -]+ COS [- - -] / (3)[EQVITIBVS QVI I]NTER·SINCV[LAR MILITAVER CASTRIS] / (4) [NOVIS QVIBVS] PRAEEST + [- - -] /(5) TRIBVNVS] QVINIS ET VI[CENIS PLVRIBVSVE STIPENDIS] / (6) [EMERITIS] DIM[ISSIS HONESTA MISSIONE QVORVM] / (7) +++. 27.13 grams, 50 mm
Property of a European gentleman, acquired on the London art market.
