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LOT 0118
Roman Bronze Lion Fitting
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
3 3/8 in. (100 grams, 88 mm).
Displaying a naturalistic lion's head projecting from a facetted bar with piercing for attachment; recessed eyes to accept separate inserts.
Provenance‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection.
LiteratureCf. Christies, London, A Peaceable Kingdom: The Leo Mildenberg Collection of Ancient Animals, 26th-27th October, 2004, 216, for a bear's head protome of similar style.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0118
Roman Bronze Lion Fitting
Estimate £800 - 1,000€930 - 1,160 (for guidance only)$1,080 - 1,350 (for guidance only)
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Roman Bronze Sleeping Dog Statuette
3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Modelled in the round at rest with its head on its front paws and wearing a collar, stylised coat and facial detailing; hollow-formed. 18.5 grams, 46 mm
Found Lincolnshire, 1981. -
Large Roman Bronze Bowl with Handle
5th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,600
Broad squat vessel with flat inturned rim, curved round-section handle with median collars, attachment plates formed as leaves and profile beast-heads; shallow basal ring. 1.97 kg, 33.5 cm wide
German private collection, 1980s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.201190. -
Roman Silver Cochlear Spoon Inscribed 'May You Live in God'
Circa 4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Composed of a decoratively twisted slender stem with onion knop finial and roughly D-shaped neck formed as the arched neck of a horse, the restored oval bowl bearing a Latin inscription '[V]IVASINDEO' to the interior, the underside gently carinated. 13.5 grams, 13.4 cm
Ex Garcia collection, France, 1990s-2000s.
According to the British Museum, the inscription corresponds to the phrase 'Vivas in deo', meaning 'May you live in God'. This inscription was common in the Roman Empire and especially in Roman Britain after the advent of Christianity. A small Roman silver disc, thought to have been part of a signet ring, dated to 4th-5th century and found near Swaffham, is inscribed 'Antonius, may you live in God (Antoni, vivas in Deo)'. It is highly possible that our spoon, if a liturgical object, was used to administer Holy Communion.
