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LOT 0588
Roman Bronze Axe Brooch
3RD CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 in. (9.2 grams, 37 mm).
Plate brooch with raised vertical shaft and lateral crescent blades each with notched outer edge and incised ring-and-dot motif; catch and pin to the reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx Cambridgeshire, UK, collection, 1980s.
LiteratureCf. Heeren, S. & van der Feijst, L., Fibulae uit de Lage Landen. Beschrijving, Analyse en Interpretatie van een Archeologische Vondstcategorie, Amersfoort, 2017, item NL-0434-16a-442, for 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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Roman Redware Lamp with Radiate Head of Serapis
3rd-4th century A.D.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
Comprising a squat body with thick nozzle and lug handle, band of leaves and bunches of grapes to the discus, surrounding a bust of Serapis with modius and radiate crown; maker's initials to the underside 'S. S. L.'. 145 grams, 12.2 cm wide
Fine condition.
Ex London gallery 1980s. From the collection of a deceased Lancashire gentleman.
Serapis was a Graeco-Egyptian god, whose cult was popularised during the 3rd century B.C. on the orders of Ptolemy I of Egypt, to facilitate the religious syncretism of his kingdom. During the Roman Empire his image was widely diffused in the east, and the image of Zeus-Serapis was often fitted with the radiate crown, linking it with the cult of Sol Invictus; the position as the main divinity of the Roman Pantheon strengthened by Lucius Domitius Aurelian (270-275 A.D.). -
Roman Period Iridescent Glass Bottle with Pimples
4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
The lower body decorated with raised 'pimples'; shallow kick-up; iridescent surfaces. 15.9 grams, 58 mm
Fine condition.
Ex private collection, 1980s. Acquired on the UK art market in the 1990s. -
Roman Bronze Plaque with Eros on Lion
Circa 2nd-4th century A.D.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
Modelled in relief with openwork elements, stylised detailing to both figures; hollow reverse. 182 grams, 10.2 cm high
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.
Hollow cast bronze images of Eros riding a lion are linked to the Eastern Levant and have been found for example in Tamna, probably a Roman import. The importance of the long-distance contacts within the Eastern Mediterranean areas was rapidly reflected in provincial artistic styles, probably as soon as in Hellenistic times, at the beginning of the third century B.C., possibly even earlier. The unquestionable Greek influence led a number of scholars to define three main styles for the bronzes discovered in the eastern Roman provinces: a local type and iconography locally produced, Greek or Roman imports, and Oriental, Hellenistic, or Roman style, locally produced.