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LOT 0700
Roman Bronze Lion Head Mount
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
4 in. (218 grams total, 10 cm high including stand).
Discoid mount with a lion-head modelled in the round to the centre, the beast with fierce expression and gaping jaws; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenancePrivate collection of Mr K.A., acquired in the 1990s-early 2000s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Exhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 26th May-15th September 2025; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.
LiteratureCf. similar appliques in Lăpusan, B., ‘Lion’s head mounts from Roman Dacia’ in Firea, C., Rustoiu, A., Sub Semnul Artei, Studii în onoarea academicianului Marius Porumb la 80 de ani Cluj-Napoca, 2023, pp.395-404, fig.1.
FootnotesBronze lions were chosen guardian figures for millennia in both the Greek and Roman worlds. Representations of lions have been discovered in various contexts, appearing on gates and tombs in ancient Greece and on Roman coffins (sarcophagi), where they symbolise victory of the soul over death and evil.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0700
Roman Bronze Lion Head Mount
Estimate £400 - 600€460 - 700 (for guidance only)$540 - 810 (for guidance only)
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Terracotta Forger's Casting Mould
4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
Discoid clay mould with impressed design of a coin to each face. 3.46 grams, 24 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Roman Iron Nail Collection
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Including clout nail with narrow shank, and other types. 31.4 grams total, 4.9-11.4 cm
Found Roman Palace, Fishbourne, Chichester, Sussex, UK. From the private collection of Kenneth Machin (1936-2020), Buckinghamshire, UK; his collection of antiquities and natural history was formed since 1948; thence by descent. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Roman Bronze Three-Dimensional Vessel Mount
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,500
Comprising a plaque of three conjoined lobes with segmented border; at the top, a loop with segmented rim; vignette with a nude male with shoulder-length hair embracing a taller bearded figure with kilt and mantle to left shoulder (Hercules?); below, a satyr with horns and goat's legs beset by hunting dogs. 286 grams, 13.8 cm
Acquired in 1992. Private collection, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12865-241702. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
