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LOT 0658
Roman Bronze Medical Instrument Group
CIRCA 1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
5 1/8 - 5 1/2 in. (109 grams total, 13-14 cm).
Comprising: cosmetic spoon with spike handle; probe with baluster and rounded tip; surgical knife with inset ferrous blade. [3, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Silver Statuette Collection
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Modelled standing on polygonal bases, comprising: a male figure with full head of hair and beard, dressed in a floor-length robe and holding a patera; a male figure dressed in full-length robe, wearing a hat and holding a palm(?), one arm absent; a female figure standing in floor-length robes, possibly holding a cornucopia and rudder, suspension loop to reverse. 24.5 grams total, 24-38 mm
Fine condition.
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. From an important North West London collection. -
Roman Carnelian Gemstone with Theatre Masks
1st-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,640
Polished to an oval shape, engraved with eight theatre masks in two rows; one row with three tragic masks in profile, one depicting a satyr, and a tragic mask of an old man shown frontally; the opposing row with a tragic mask of an old man in profile, a Bacchus mask, a mask of a bearded man wearing a cap shown in three-quarter view, and a mask of a young hero facing the centre. 2.51 grams, 22.02 mm
From the collection of a late London, UK, gentleman, 1980s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12033-214124.
The masks represented seem to be relevant to the typologies of the 'new comedy', an image that appears on cameos and gems since the Augustan era. -
Roman Bronze Looped Figural Pendant with Phallus
Circa 1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Composed of three concentric circles surmounted by a bearded figure to which is attached a suspension ring, the body of the figure engraved and ending with phallic attributes. 53 grams, 83 mm
Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
Roman military harness included pendants of various typology, ranging from lunules to other decorative elements, often phallic, with the possible intention of protecting the animal. This particular pendant could be connected to the bearded image of the god Priapus.