Roman Bronze Ring with Clasped Hands Gemstone

Egyptizing intaglio representing the myth of Osiris, with the mummy of the god resting above the snake Ouroboros and surmounted by his son, the falcon god Horus, a star above. 1.31 grams, 17 mm



Giorgio Sangiorgi (1886-1965), Rome, acquired and brought to Switzerland, late 1930s; thence by continuous descent to the current owner. with Christie's Ancient Jewellery, New York, 6 December 2007, no.338. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12582-232140. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

The image of Ouroboros (a snake eating its own tail) is usually associated with stars and Egyptian mythology as represented in Roman gnostic intaglios. Ouroboros is continuously re-birthing itself and depicted as a circle, representing eternity and the cyclical nature of things that start once they end. It is also the symbol of duality and dualising power.

A reused rectangular wax tablet with a shallow recessed panel to one face and thirteen lines of Roman cursive script; the text contains the end of testamentary instructions followed by the obligatory mancipatory formula which includes the ritual purchase of the entire property of the deceased (familia testamenti faciundi erga emit), with the "Libripens" (balance holder) being Bonatianus, and the first of the witnesses was Iulius Lovianus; in the last lines the testator's handwritten signature, after he had dictated his will to a friend; on the outer face two sulci, which were filled with wax into which the signet rings of the witnesses could be impressed, with traces of the signatures of witnesses; four small holes for attachment. 50 grams, 17.7 x 16.6 cm



Acquired by Albert Sfez in the early 1950s. Formerly the property of Monsieur Alain Sfez, a Belgium collector; acquired by gift from his father Albert Sfez, in 1965. Acquired by a London dealer in 1973. From an important London collection since 1975; thence by descent. Accompanied by a copy of a four page illustrated academic report by Professor Dr. phil. Peter Rothenhöfer. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12568-218137. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

The contract follows standard Roman legal formulae.

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. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

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.