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LOT 0834
Roman Bronze Scalpel Medical Instrument
1ST-3RD CENTURY A.D.
8 1/4 in. (38.4 grams, 20.9 cm).
Round-section handle with bulb finial and ribbed baluster, narrow swept blade. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
Cf. similar in the Metropolitan Museum of Art under accession no.74.51.5511.
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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Roman Bulbous Glass Vase
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
With long slender neck and everted rim. 37 grams, 12.5 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016. -
Large Roman Bronze Staff Finial with Bust of Serapis
Circa 2nd century A.D.Estimate: £50,000 - 70,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £22,222
With luxuriant long wavy hair and characteristic vertical locks at the forehead, full beard with two large ringlets below the chin, wearing a chiton and a himation draped over the left shoulder, the head surmounted by a corn modius decorated with olive branch in relief, the bust supported on the back of an eagle standing atop an orb with spread wings, the eagle with its head slightly turned to the left, the feathers finely detailed; a finial from a staff or a ceremonial standard; repaired. 1.4 kg, 29.5 cm high
Repaired.
Ex private collection, South Germany, 1980. with Gorny and Mosch, Munich, 13 December 2003, no.74. with Christie's, New York, 8 June 2012, no.239 (US $120,000-180,000). Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11789-206489.
The Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211 A.D.) modelled many of his portraits based on Serapis. But it was under Hadrian that the refurbishment of the statue in the Serapeum increased the demand for small-scale images, like this one, probably made during his reign and used atop of a processional sceptre or standard for the cult of the god. -
Roman Glass Grape Flask
3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £598
Narrow mouth with squared rim, short cylindrical neck extending to a wide shoulder with applied strap handles, the ovoid body moulded with ten rows of stylised grapes; some iridescence; old collector''s label to underside '4187 TD'. 50 grams, 97 mm
From the private collection of a French Count in the 19th century. Ex Thierry de Maigret, April 2010.
The neck has the appearance of having been reduced in height and ground off flat at the rim, while the applied handles are an unusual feature on this type of vessel. The examples in the Corning Museum have a much taller neck and flared rim to the mouth.
