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LOT 0727
Roman Bronze Crossbow Brooch
4TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/2 in. (56 grams, 88 mm).
With three faceted knops to the crossbar, the upper one with beaded collar, and pierced moulding to the upper face, deep bow, stepped junction with foot, trapezoidal foot with ring-and-dot motifs and integral catch; hinged pin to reverse; Keller Type 4. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Cf. Mackreth, D.F., Brooches in Late Iron Age and Roman Britain, Oxford, 2011, vol.2, pl.140, item 12576.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Gilt Bronze Phalera with Theseus and the Minotaur
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Domed roundel with high-relief design of combat between a bearded hero and a monster, wreath and rosettes to the rim. 32 grams, 49 mm
Found near Sedgeford, Norfolk, UK, in the 1980s. Acquired in the late 1990s. Property of a Norfolk, UK, collector.
According to the legend, Theseus, prince of Athens, went to the island of Crete to kill a monster who was the son of queen Pasiphae and a wild bull, although officially he was the son of Minos and Pasiphae. Theseus chased him into the labyrinth, killed him and found his way out with the help of the comb of Ariadne, daughter of King Minos. The myth has its representation in the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic period, and was widely depicted in the Graeco-Roman world. The present repoussé appliqué was probably used as a furniture or horse harness ornament.