Roman Bronze ROMA Brooch

2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

1 3/8 in. (15.8 grams, 37 mm).

The monogram in Roman capital letters, ('R'+'M'+'A', with the 'O' represented by the circular rim of the brooch itself), a palindrome 'AMOR'; complete with pin.

Provenance

Acquired on the UK art market before 2000.
Property of a Surrey, UK, collector.

Published

Cf. Heynowski, R., Bestimmungsbuch Archaeologie: Fibeln, Munich, 2012, item 3.26.11, for type; for a similar brooch discovered on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom, see database in Portable Antiquities Scheme website.

Footnotes

The brooch is composed of the stylised letters ‘RMA’. When viewed from the obverse RMA + the circle of the brooch form a monogram for ‘Roma’. Roma refers to both the city and its divine personification, the Dea Roma. But if RMA is read from right to left (or the brooch is viewed from the opposite side), the letters display a monogram for ‘AMOR’, the Latin name for Cupid, the god of love. The phrase pertains to Roma-Amor, a widely recognised palindrome espousing Roman wordplay in the ancient times.

CONDITION

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LOT 0730