Roman Bronze Dagger Amulet

With luxuriant long wavy hair and characteristic vertical locks at the forehead, full beard with two large ringlets below the chin, wearing a chiton and a himation draped over the left shoulder, the head surmounted by a corn modius decorated with olive branch in relief, the bust supported on the back of an eagle standing atop an orb with spread wings, the eagle with its head slightly turned to the left, the feathers finely detailed; a finial from a staff or a ceremonial standard. 1.4 kg, 29.5 cm high

Repaired.

Ex private collection, South Germany, 1980. with Gorny and Mosch, Munich, 13 December 2003, no.74. with Christie's, New York, 8 June 2012, no.239 (US $120,000-180,000). Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11789-206489.

The Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.) modelled many of his portraits based on Serapis. But it was under Hadrian that the refurbishment of the statue in the Serapeum increased the demand for small-scale images, like this one, probably made during his reign and used atop of a processional sceptre or standard for the cult of the god.

Comprising a round-section hoop with granule pyramids to the shoulder, decorative wire wrapped around the hoop on one side; rosette-shaped applied bezel with filigree decoration, raised setting with dark green glass cabochon; possibly a marriage. 5.14 grams, 22.93 mm overall, 17.05 mm internal diameter (approximate size British L 1/2, USA 6, Europe 11.87, Japan 11)



Private collection USA. From the Alexander Gallery, New York, USA, in the early 2000s.

Parcel-gilt crossbow brooch with onion-shaped knops to the ends of the headplate and medially along the top edge; deep trapezoidal-section bow with median gusset; D-section footplate with chamfered sides open to one edge; upper part of one face of the bow with niello-filled running scroll design, lower part of the other face with running guilloche; beaded wire collar at the end. 14.6 grams, 46 mm



Ex N.C. collection. Acquired on the Swiss art market in 2000. European private collection.

Crossbow fibulae of this type were worn by high officers and, if in gold, even emperors, from Constantine to Justinian, as symbols of military rank. These fibulae are an important element in the graves, for the classification of the category of the dead, as belonging to the militia (armed or not); many of them were in gold, or gilded silver, and decorated with an inscription.