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LOT 0644
Roman Bronze Phallic Dagger Quillon or Pendant
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
2 1/8 in. (25.5 grams, 55 mm).
With a rectangular plaque with central void, phallus to one short edge and a stylised fist to the other. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
See for a bronze phallic element of same typology, Metropolitan Museum of Art, no.60.11.71.
FootnotesIn the Roman world the phallus was symbol of luck or fertility, and it as well was believed to have apotropaic functions. Pendants, amulets and small objects were worn by all sorts of people as symbols of protection, especially from young children according to Varro and Pliny the Elder. The phallus is commonly found on reliefs, frescoes and lamps from the Graeco-Roman world. This object can have been the quillon of a small dagger, but also hung as a charm from a tintinnabulum, a wind chime adorned with bells and intended to ward off evil.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Roman and Other Green Glass Bead Necklace String
1st-4th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £169
Mixed group of graduated beads, the central feature a conical bead with an annular metal bead below; restrung. 14.28 grams, 36.5 cm
From London, UK, gallery collection, 1990s. -
Roman Silver Pin with a Figure of a Standing Woman
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £400 - 600 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
Comprising a tapering body with a Corinthian capital finial, a standing female figure atop the capital, dressed in long robes. 16 grams, 98 mm
Acquired in the 1980s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.
The pin seems to belong to the group 18 of the Cool's classification. The treatment of the figures in these pins varies greatly, including both the very 'Celtic' looking face on a pin from Cirencester and a Graeco-Roman figure type of Venus standing on a Corinthian capital from London. This great diversity of treatments clearly suggests that these pins were the occasional products of a wide variety of workshops. -
Roman Bronze Statuette of the God Harpocrates
1st-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Presented as a very young child sitting on the ground, wearing a long tunic which covers his lower body down to his feet; right arm bent and hand raised to the shoulder, left hand curved around an object (absent); sporting the conventional sidelock behind the right ear; mounted in a custom-made tiered wooden stand. 213 grams, 73 mm (276 grams total, 10.2 cm including stand)
Ex Hanna Saba collection, Ambassador to Egypt-USA-France (1909-1992). Private European collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12098-218159.
The god's name was Hellenized in the Ptolemaic era and later adopted by the Romans, but it originated in the figure of 'Horus the child', son of Isis and Osiris, who was worshipped especially in Alexandria.
