Roman Bronze Armilla Bracelet

A Henig Type I ring circular in shape set with a chalcedony intaglio decorated with Victory standing in front of a column. 1.01 grams, 16.06 mm overall, 13.31 mm internal diameter (approximate size British D 1/2, USA 2, Europe 1.78, Japan 1)



Found near Welshpool, Wales, UK, on 23 October 2019. Accompanied by a copy of a Welshpool Portable Antiquities data sheet with PAS reference no.WREX-2A4F27.

Decorated with a high-relief pattern comprising sphinxes surrounded by dolphins and masks of Medusa surrounded by laurel leaves all between Corinthian columns; ropework and floral border strips with laurel leaves above; lip below the upper edge. 20.1 kg, 101.5 cm



Acquired 1970s-early 1990s. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.

This item belongs to types widespread in the Eastern Mediterranean. The panel is decorated with a columned structure, and within each section are symbols of the outer-world, including gorgons, sphinx and dolphins. The sphinx, having a human head and breasts, legs and paws of a lion, and wings of a bird, was generally associated with protecting imperial tombs and temples. The roundels featuring the head of Medusa, known for her potent gazes that could turn one to stone, was favoured on sarcophagi and architectural ornaments because it was believed that her image would protect those within. The dolphin was considered to ferry the souls of the dead to the afterlife.

Including equal-arm, bow brooch fragments, and a Romano-British lion bow brooch similar to the one found at Corbridge (lot 891). 21.1 grams total, 28-42 mm



Property of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985. From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman.