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LOT 0676
Roman Bronze Animal Mount Group
3RD CENTURY A.D.
2 1/8 - 3 in. (160 grams total, 54-74 mm).
Comprising: a sinuous serpent with lattice detailing; a duck with tab-handle to the underside; a goose with head thrown back, pellet in the beak. [3, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Lead Sling Shot Projectile Collection
1st century B.C.-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £585
Comprising ten lentoid-section glandes, five with impressed stylised 'fulmen' (thunderbolt) of Jupiter. 384 grams total, 18-36 mm
Acquired in Europe in 1990. European private collection.
The missiles of ovoid shape belong to type Ia of the Völling classification. The sling (funda) with its lead missiles (plumbea pondera or glandae) and stone (lapides) was used by special funditores, illustrated on Trajan’s Column where they are simply dressed in broad tunics with no armour, but carry a shield. A fold in their cloak, or sagulum, acted as an ammunition bag. The effectiveness of the slingers was unquestionable and much appreciated, especially against elephants. Celsus, writing towards the end of the 2nd century A.D., described how a slingshot wound was more dangerous and harder to treat than one inflicted by an arrow. -
Roman Bronze Mouse Statuette
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
Modelled in the round, crouching, holding a nut in its raised forepaws, tail looped to the rear. 46.7 grams, 49 mm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. -
Roman Gold Earring Pairs
2nd-3rd century A.D. or earlierEstimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
Two pairs of earrings with decoratively twisted hoops, domed plaques and pyramid bulbs embellished with granule clusters; one pair with gold wire spirals to the plaques. 16.97 grams total, 42-50 mm
Acquired between 1950-1970s. Ex Swiss private collection.