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LOT 0076
Roman Bronze Musical Flute
CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
9 in. (87 grams, 23 cm).
An extremely rare aulos or tibia with round-section body, six circular holes to one side and a D-shaped hole to the reverse.
ProvenanceFrom the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister; from her collection formed early 1960s-1990s.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11055-184396.
See Daremberg, C.V. & Saglio, E. (eds.), Dictionnaire des Antiquités Grecques et Romaines, Paris, 1873-1917, fig.6965; see a cast of the Roman flute from Pompeii, in the Spurlock Museum of World Cultures (inventory 1916.07.0011); Wardle, M.A., Musical Instruments in the Roman World, London, 1981, for iconography (pp.35ff., 115ff. and especially pl.22), and original specimens from Pompeii, pls.1-2; the closest parallel in Palagyi, T., Facsady, A., Romains de Hongrie, Lyon, 2002, p.117, fig.259 (bronze tibia from Pannonia, Savaria, today Szombathely).
FootnotesThe flute was used for religious ceremonies and for entertainment. The pyrrhic, a war dance of Doric origin, was a rapid dance to the double flute, and made to resemble an action in battle.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0076
Roman Bronze Musical Flute
Estimate £6,000 - 8,000€6,960 - 9,280 (for guidance only)$8,100 - 10,800 (for guidance only)
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Roman Carnelian Gemstone with Animals
Circa 1st century B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £520
Of plano-convex form, depicting an ear of wheat, a fly, an elephant in profile, a mouse and a locust; accompanied by a museum-quality impression. 1.68 grams, 17 mm
Ex property of a London gentleman; acquired by his father in the 1970s; thence by descent. -
Roman Bronze Goat Collection
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Modelled standing with stylised features, including free-standing examples. 81 grams total, 28-35 mm
‘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. -
Roman Bronze Extendable Table Leg
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Composed of two rectangular-section bars with square-sockets. 2 kg total, 1.07 m
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.
These bars were one of the four supports of a folding table with a height-adjustable frame, often surmounted by busts of divinities. These folding supports for tables, bracers and cauldrons are known finds from important excavations in the Roman world, like Pompeii. The purpose of such folding stands varied; during a meal they were placed between the triclinium beds with bowls and plates hung to the hooks at the back of the holders.