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_900x900.jpg "Roman Bronze Ring with Sol Invictus")
_200x200.jpg "Roman Bronze Ring with Sol Invictus")
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LOT 0738
Roman Bronze Ring with Sol Invictus
CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
3/4 in. (3.72 grams, 21.78 mm overall, 18.22 mm internal diameter (approximate size British K, USA 5 1/4, Europe 9.95, Japan 9)).
Composed of a carinated hoop and oval bezel set with a glass intaglio crowned bust facing left.
ProvenanceAcquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
Cf. Humer, F., Kremer, G., Pollhammer, E., Pülz, A., AD 313 Von Carnuntum zum Christentum, Bad Voslau, 2014, nos.40, for similar gemstones representing the Sol Invictus.
FootnotesThe portrait could be interpreted as wearing a radiated crown, thus an image of Sol Invictus, common in gems for rings of the 3rd century A.D., where the young face of the Sun-Helios is often visible in profile, looking to the left, with the radiate crown on his head. The cult of Sol Invictus was favoured by the Illyrian emperors and elevated in Rome by Aurelian to one of the premier divinities of the Empire.
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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Large Roman Sheet-Silver Brooch Pair
4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £374
Each formed as a figure-of-eight-shaped plaque with beaded edge and central bridge, bronze reinforcement to the reverse and ferrous attachment pin. 71.3 grams total, 15-15.2 cm
Fine condition, edge chipped.
Acquired on the European art market in the 1990s. Ex property of a Suffolk collector. -
Roman Silver Ring with Gemstone
3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
The hoop expanding at the shoulders with fluting, set with an octagonal intaglio gemstone displaying a gryllos. 11.64 grams, 28.34 mm overall, 21.27 mm internal diameter (approximate size British I 1/2, USA 4 1/2, Europe 8.07, Japan 7)
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
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Roman Marble Head of a Woman
1st-early 3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,510
Carved in the round with youthful features; large eyes with thickened eyelids, especially the lower lid, well-defined eyebrows forming two long arcs; small mouth with fleshy lips and deep corners; the hair parted at the centre and forming two symmetrical bands of wavy locks leaving the ears uncovered, secured with a ribbon and gathered at the nape of the neck to a small braid with a low hanging knot; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 2.95 kg total, 24.5 cm high including base
19th-20th century collection, based on the stand. Ex German collection, 1980s. with HVMC Auctions, Monaco, 12 May 2021, lot 99. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Marina Mattei and Dr Laura Maria Vigna. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11761-202174.
The arrangement of the hair is characteristic of female portraits of the late Antoninian to early Severan age. The head finds comparisons with a female portrait in the National Roman Museum, depicting an elderly woman of the Antoninian age, and with another female portrait in the National Roman Museum, dated to the third decade of the 3rd century A.D., reworked in the Tetrarchic Period, with the hairstyle falling within the so-called 'Nest Frisur' of the Severan age.
