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LOT 0796
Roman Bronze Bear-Head Dagger Pommel
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
1 3/4 in. (29.5 grams, 44 mm).
Hollow-formed with acute lower jaw, triangular muzzle, gusset and rounded rim to the socket-mouth. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceProperty of a Gloucestershire, UK, collector.
Property of an East Sussex, UK, gentleman.
See similar mounts in shape of eagle from Cerne Abbas, in Worrell, S., Worrell, 'Roman Britain in 2005. II. Finds reported under the Portable Antiquities Scheme', in Britannia, 37 (2006), pp.429-466, p.457, fig.27
FootnotesThe function of the animal head terminal in the form of a stylised eagle or griffin head found in the canabae at Caerleon was interpreted as
a possible pommel for a sword or other weapon due to the rectangular hole at the top of the head for a tang or other attachment.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Bronze Brooch Collection
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Including penannular, La Tène III and other types; all complete with pins. 28 grams total, 38-56 mm
Property of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985. From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman. -
Roman Mixed Architectural and Pottery Group
1st century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £65
Including Spartan Basalt, mined in Greece, cut and polished on one side; one marble fragment marked in pencil: 'VILLA / HADRIAN', another: 'OSTIA / ANTICA'; a large amphora handle; seven pottery fragments; a carved decorative edge stone; a marble core fragment; a later floor tile fragment; with an old handwritten slip with: 'VILLA HADRIAN, AUSTRIA ANTICA, Nr. ROME, ITALY.' and on the inside: 'AUSTRIA ANTICA / (Region in ancient Rome) / VILLA HADRIAN / (outside Rome)'. 1.57 kg total, 5-18.5 cm
Acquired on the UK market, since 1970. From the historic mineral collection of Richard Valentine Cain, London, UK, thence by descent. -
Roman Bronze Eagle with Base
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £1,800 - 2,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Modelled in the round on a square base with gusseted sides, standing with head turned and wings spread. 104 grams, 47 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12239-222315.