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LOT 0650
Roman Bronze Brooch Collection
1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/4 - 2 1/4 in. (120 grams total, 33-57 mm).
Including P-shaped, knee, trumpet-derivative, crossbow and other types, some with restored pins. [12, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market around 2000.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
See Bayley, J. & Butcher, S., Roman Brooches in Britain: A Technological and Typological Study based on the Richborough Collection, London, 2004.
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 Tinned Bronze Decorated Casket Key
1st-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
With broad circular bow, barrel-type shank with pierced bit, mandrel to the upper bow. 4.49 grams, 41 mm
Fine condition.
Found Cambridgeshire, UK. -
Roman Silver Crossbow Brooch with Dedicatory Inscription
4th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £278
Featuring rounded knops to the head, the bow with a dedicatory inscription in Latin letters 'VTER FELIX IURE VICTO'. 19.5 grams, 62 mm
Acquire in the 1990s. Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.
The dedicatory inscription 'VTERE FELIX', 'use it with good luck' or 'with happiness' is often found on Roman military artefacts, like belt fittings, brooches, and armlets; but it is rarely accompanied by 'IURE VICTO' inscription ([being the] rightful winner). The inscription is typical of the late Roman military world, but it can also refer to people using the brooch in civil duties, these fibulae being ordinarily gifted to the militia armata and non armata. -
Large Roman Bronze Basilisk
4th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £278
The upper body, neck and head of a mythical basilisk (cockatrice), modelled in the round with the body of a serpent and head of a cockerel, the body with a tapering round-section profile, stylised detailing to the head. 260 grams, 88 mm
‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection.
The basilisk, known from the Renaissance onwards as a cockatrice, was a Graeco-Roman mythical two-legged dragon or serpent-like creature with a cock's head. It had the reputed ability to kill people by either looking at them, touching them, or sometimes breathing on them. According to legend a cockatrice would die instantly upon hearing a rooster crow, and having a cockatrice looking at itself in a mirror was one of the few sure ways to kill it.