Roman Bronze Ring with Eros Riding a Dolphin Gemstone

Comprising various types including bottles and flasks in blue and pale green. 32 grams total, 21-57 mm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.

Composing two opposed dragonesque figures with tail and lowered head, sitting on a peltate style cut out. 19.7 grams, 35 mm



Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance.

Belt appliques and decorations change notably during the centuries of the Roman Empire. In around 2nd-3rd centuries A.D., particularly in Pannonia and in Britain, show many very Celtic orientated fittings, maybe as the result of provincial influences within the army or production systems.

Comprising five with round-section bodies and squared terminals; the surfaces decorated with engraved lines and dots. 73 grams total, 63-66 mm



From the family collection of a Surrey gentleman since before 1960.

Bracelets were worn in Rome by ladies of rank, but it was considered a mark of effeminacy for civilian men to use such female ornaments (Suetonius, Caligula, 52; Nero, 30). The armillae (or psellia in Greek) were rings and bracelets worn by women in the Graeco-Roman world on both legs and arms. Homer mentions them (elikas) as being part of the hairstyle of the divine Aphrodite, thus giving an almost sacred character to these objects. There were different types, the most common consisting of a more or less thick metal wire, or a flat or cylindrical circle, like our examples.