Roman Bronze Head of Minerva

Of kräftig profilierte type with crescent above the bow and broad catch with lobe to the forward edge. 12 grams, 30 mm



Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection, 1990s.

Cuboid with impressed ring-and-dot motifs disposed 6:5, 4:2, 3:1. 35 grams, 15 mm



Found UK prior to 2000. From the important private collection of dice and gaming pieces of Colin Narbeth, London, collection no.61. Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Celtic & Roman Artefacts book pages where this object is published.

The conventional Roman dice were made in bone or lead, with dots representing numbers from 1 to 6. Roman dice from the Romano-British settlements are often poorly made and often had opposite sides that do not add up to 7.

Modelled in the round, Venus standing nude with hands raised to dress her hair; dorsal pillar pierced at shoulder height for suspension. 4.9 grams, 40 mm



From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

The iconography of Venus Anadyomene was one of the most commonly used images of the goddess in classical sculpture, and was still popular during the late Roman Empire. The best example of this is the Louvre Venus Anadyomene (Ma 3537) of the 4th century A.D., found in the 19th century at Saint George de la Montagne near Bordeaux, inside a rich aristocratic house and coming from Aphrodisias, an ancient place of statuary production for export.