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LOT 0942
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]
ProvenancePrivate collection, Rosenheim, Germany, 1960s.
LiteratureCf. Boucher, S., Inventaire des Collections Publiques Françaises - 17 Vienne: Bronzes Antiques, Paris, 1971, items 658ff, pp.200-201.
FootnotesThis 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0942
Roman Bronze Scallop Shell 'Door Key' Pair
Sold for (Inc. bp): £455
-
Roman Silver Pin with a Figure of a Standing Woman
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £624
Comprising a tapering body with a Corinthian capital finial, a standing female figure atop the capital, dressed in long robes. 16 grams, 98 mm
Acquired in the 1980s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.
The pin seems to belong to the group 18 of the Cool's classification. The treatment of the figures in these pins varies greatly, including both the very 'Celtic' looking face on a pin from Cirencester and a Graeco-Roman figure type of Venus standing on a Corinthian capital from London. This great diversity of treatments clearly suggests that these pins were the occasional products of a wide variety of workshops. -
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Circa 4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Formed as a pair of conjoined tubes with slightly flared tops and thickened rims; applied handles at the shoulders joined to the rim; glass with areas of iridescence; mounted on a custom-made stand. 85 grams, 10.9 cm
From a London, UK, collection of glass, 1970-2000s. -
Roman Bronze Statue Finger
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Modelled in a slightly bent pose with nail detailing. 21.6 grams, 33 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
