Roman Bronze Mercury Votive Foot

Locking plate with six circular and D-shaped piercings to accept the bits of a key. 14.4 grams, 67 mm



Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman.

Including bust of Victory pendant, tanged arrowhead, rosette belt slider, finger rings and other items. 145 grams total, 17-99 mm



Ex Nigel Mills, London, UK.

Statue or frieze fragment with male head modelled in the half-round; circular face with large almond-shaped eyes, heavy brow, thick tousled hair framing the face, drooping moustache and short beard; presented at an oblique angle to the lower face of the block; two mounting holes to the underside. 22.8 kg, 43 cm



Found in Norfolk, UK. Acquired from Michael Booth, 1998. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

The angle of the face in respect of the block suggests that the head is both tilted and detached, i.e. that it is a tête coupé or severed head. The practice of headhunting is documented among the natives of both Gaul and Britain (and elsewhere) in the Iron Age. The head is then considered to have special powers to avert evil and promote fertility, cure disease and provide other benefits. This is the case with the carved head - a male mask with copious hair and beard - from the Roman baths at Bath, Somerset (the ancient Aquae Sulis) which was a site of worship long before the arrival of a Roman presence in the area (Ross, p.91). The head takes on the character of a deity and is believed to respond favourably to prayer.