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LOT 0578
Roman Bronze and Other Artefact Collection
CIRCA 1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D. AND LATER
5/8 - 2 in. (83 grams total, 15-50 mm).
Mixed group of items, including four fish-hooks, seal box lids, a votive mirror fragment, an enamelled stud, and others. [17, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on UK art market.
Property of a Middlesex gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0578
Roman Bronze and Other Artefact Collection
Estimate £40 - 60€46 - 70 (for guidance only)$54 - 81 (for guidance only)
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Roman Bronze Oil Lamp with Masks
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Bids: 2 | Current Bid: £600
With an elongated body, long nozzle with a rounded tip; raised rim to filling hole with hinged lid bearing a mask with sockets to the eyes for silver inserts; handle curved and terminating in a female mask with hair dressed in tiers, eyes recessed to be inlaid with silver; broad nozzle with cup and raised rim; socket to underside for mounting on a stand. 560 grams, 15.5 cm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
The lamp is crafted in a very fine style, probably in a classical form from the 1st or 2nd century. It belongs to a type known and widespread in the Mediterranean, with parallels in Paris, Madrid, the museums of Cadiz, Tarragona, and Aquileia. -
Roman Bronze Ring with Stepping Horse and Dioscourus
Circa 3rd century A.D.Estimate: £50 - 70 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
Wide hoop expanding at the shoulders, oval bezel with a standing figure beside a stepping horse. 4.45 grams, 20.40 mm overall, 16.70 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K, USA 5 1/4, Europe 9.95, Japan 9)
From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Terracotta Bullae, Tesserae or Token Group
3rd century B.C.-1st century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
A mixed group of ceramic bullae, tesserae or theatre tokens bearing low-relief motifs, mainly consisting of profile busts of deities. 34.8 grams total, 15-24 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.
