Details

LOT 0738

Roman Bronze Ladle with Loop Handle

2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

9 in. (66 grams, 23 cm).

With deep bowl, integral square-section handle and loop finial. [No Reserve]

Provenance

UK private collection before 2000.
UK art market.
Property of a London gentleman.

Literature

Cf. Tassinari, S., La Vaisselle de Bronze, Romaine et Provinciale, au Musée des Antiquités Nationales, XXIXe supplément de Gallia, Paris, 1975, items 40-3, for similar ladles with animal-head finials; cf. also Boucher, S., Inventaire des Collections Publiques Françaises - 17 Vienne: Bronzes Antiques, Paris, 1971, pp.168-169, for similar specimens.

Footnotes

This type of ladle was used for libations of wine to the gods during sacrifices. The shape of the simpulum was that of a small cup, with a single elongated handle. The material of which it was made varied according to the wealth of the altar; there were specimens in silver; some were of brass and others made of wood or terracotta. This simpulum or simpuvium is often found depicted on Roman medals or coins, like a denarius of Augustus (2 B.C.-2 A.D.).