LOT 0619

Roman Bronze Epigraphic Codex Ansatus Model

1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.

1 1/4 in. (63.7 grams, 33 mm).

Rectangular with two supporting bars to the underside, extended loop above; enigmatic (Greek) letters to all faces.

with Hotel des Ventes, Drouot, Paris, France.
From the collection of Mr H. Naudy, Paris, France.
Acquired at between 2004-2010.
Property of a French collector.

Cf. Willi, A., Manual of Roman Everyday Writing Volume 2, Writing Equipment, Nottingham, 2021, fig.5, for similar object on a sculpture.

This small counter-weight bears letters indicating numbers: on one of the short sides Α (1), Δ (4), Χ (600); on the other short side they worn and difficult to read; and on one of the longer sides Υ (400), φ (500). The other letters are challenging to read, but the object would have been used as unit of measure. Another possibility is that it belonged to a statuette of a man holding a codex ansatus (box with a handle for carrying writing tablets).