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Home > Auctions > Starting 2nd December 2025 > Roman Bronze Scallop Shell Attachment Pair

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LOT 0973

Estimate
GBP (£) 500 - 700
EUR (€) 580 - 810
USD ($) 670 - 940

Opening Bid
£240 (EUR 278; USD 321) (+bp*)

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ROMAN BRONZE SCALLOP SHELL ATTACHMENT PAIR
CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
5 in. (343 grams total, 12.5 cm each).

Each composed of shell-shaped body with a D-shaped lug to reverse, the lug with tapering spike to the centre. [2]

PROVENANCE:
Private collection, Rosenheim, Germany, 1960s.

LITERATURE:
Cf. Boucher, S., Inventaire des Collections Publiques Françaises - 17 Vienne: Bronzes Antiques, Paris, 1971, items 658ff., pp.200-201.

FOOTNOTES:
This pair could have been used as a double key or door lock, based on comparison with some keys from the territory of Gaul (Boucher, 1971, pp.200-201). They comprised a strong ring with polygonal-section stem and a rectangular point.

CONDITION
VETTING:
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