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LOT 0983
Roman Bronze Articulated Spoon with Folding Lion Handle
CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
4 1/8 in. (20.6 grams, 10.4 cm).
Comprising a shallow piriform bowl, raised neck with movable pinned hinge attached to a handle formed as a lying lion, crescent-shaped finial; in working order.
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK art market in the 1980s.
From an East Anglian private collection.
See The Metropolitan Museum of Art, object Number: 17.192.254, for the type.
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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LOT 0983
Roman Bronze Articulated Spoon with Folding Lion Handle
Estimate £200 - 300€230 - 350 (for guidance only)$270 - 410 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£100 (EUR 116; USD 135) +BP*
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Roman Dark Green Gemstone with Asclepius
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Ellipsoid in plan with intaglio Mercury in profile standing with marsupium in one hand, wearing a petasos; supplied with an impression. 0.30 grams, 11 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Roman Carved Gemstone Collection
1st-3rd century A.D. and laterEstimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising: a banded glass intaglio with a lion attacking a bull; a mottled blue intaglio with a profile bust; a carnelian intaglio with a profile bust; a rectangular cameo with the head of a putto; a carnelian cameo of a putto. 2.45 grams total, 8-13 mm
UK private collection assembled 1970s-90s, and thence to the liquidated state of above. -
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Roman Terracotta Bullae, Tesserae or Token Group
1st century B.C.-3rd 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. 28.4 grams total, 13-21 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' suggests by etymologically referring to a square or at least a four-sided shape and confirmed in several cases by material remains of the past. 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.
