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LOT 1056
Roman Bronze Military Diploma Fragment
CIRCA 129 A.D.
1 in. (3.57 grams, 24 mm).
Irregular fragment of a thin tablet engraved with portions of several horizontal lines of Latin capitals, identified as part of the exterior witness list of the second tablet, or tabella II, of a Roman military diploma; the surviving letter groups may be restored as: '[C.] IV[LI …] [L.] PV[LLI …] [P.] AT[TI …]?'.
ProvenanceAcquired on the European art market.
UK, private collection.
This sequence closely parallels the witness list on a diploma fragment in the Museo de Huelva, inventory 10.619, published as a copy of Hadrian’s constitution for auxiliary troops serving in Syria, issued on 22 March AD 129. Published restorations of the witnesses include Gaius Iulius Eutychius, Lucius Pullius Anthus or Daphnus, and Publius Attius Severus. González Fernández and Bermejo Meléndez, Diplomata Militaria del Museo de Huelva. Military diplomas were certified bronze copies of imperial grants recording citizenship, marriage rights and related privileges.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1056
Roman Bronze Military Diploma Fragment
Estimate £150 - 200€170 - 230 (for guidance only)$200 - 270 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£75 (EUR 87; USD 101) +BP*
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Roman Terracotta Bullae, Tesserae or Token Group
3rd century B.C.-1st century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
A mixed group of ceramic bullae, tesserae or theatre tokens bearing low-relief motifs, mainly consisting of profile busts of deities. 30 grams total, 13-22 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
The term 'tessera' was used in Roman times to convey the Greek term σύμβολον (token). Small tiles are known as tokens, often shaped like coins, made of metal (copper, lead, iron), clay, bone, wood, or glass, stamped as well as engraved. The tokens, however, are not exclusively coin-shaped, as the Latin term 'tessera' suggests by etymologically referring to a square or at least a four-sided shape and confirmed in several cases by material remains of the past. Tokens and tesserae seem to have been used both in Athens and Rome for the distribution of goods. According to written sources, the term token is identified with credentials of the official authorities. They have also been interpreted as tokens of identity, as entrance tickets to theatre performances, tribunals or assemblies of citizens, archival material of seal engraving, as pawns in games, Charon’s obols and even as amulets. -
Roman to Medieval Bronze Ring Group
Circa 1st-16th century A.D.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £80
Comprising mostly flat-section hoop with expanding shoulders and discoid bezel with incised geometric motif, and other types. 46.3 grams total, 20-27 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Gemstone Collection
2nd-3rd century A.D. or laterEstimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Including a standing winged figure of Victory, Mercury with caduceus, Mars with a shield and spear and other types; each supplied with a museum-quality impression. 4.32 grams total, 8-16 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
