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LOT 0770
Roman Bronze Crossbow Brooch
4TH CENTURY A.D.
3 3/8 in. (78 grams, 85 mm).
With onion-knop apex finial and knops on either side, claw detailing to the headplate, deep bow, chamfered lateral faces sections to the foot with scroll detailing, hinged pin to the reverse.
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a 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 Terracotta Bullae, Tesserae or Token Group
3rd century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
A mixed group of ceramic bullae, tesserae or theatre tokens bearing low-relief motifs, mainly consisting of profile busts of deities. 37.4 grams total, 17-20 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' refers to a four-sided shape. 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. -
Roman Bronze Fylfot Plate Brooch
4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Plate brooch formed as a gammadion with four spurs at the hub, hinged pin and catch to the reverse. 7.26 grams, 30 mm
From the private coin collection of a West London, UK, gentleman, formed since the mid 1980s. -
Roman Pillar-Moulded Pale Green Glass Bowl
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,235
Shallow bowl with moulded pillar detailing on the outer face. 142 grams, 12.6 cm wide
Acquired from Millennium Antiquities, Lancashire, UK, in 2001. From the collection of a Bedfordshire, UK, lady. Accompanied by an original Millennium Antiquities certificate of authenticity dated 13 October 2001.
Ribbed bowls were typical cast tableware belonging to the early Imperial period, and parallels have been found throughout the Roman provinces and beyond. In Cyprus, as elsewhere in the eastern half of the Empire, bowls with short, close-set ribs concentrated around the middle of the body constitute a large group.
