Roman Bronze Scallop Shell 'Door Key' Pair

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

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LOT 0942