Loading, please wait...
LOT 0107
Roman Bronze Strigil
2ND CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.
7 1/2 in. (46 grams, 19 cm).
With C-section profile to the blade, rectangular handle with flare to the upper end, old notch to one edge, repaired.
ProvenanceEx collection Dr. Kuhn-Lucht, Germany.
with Kölner Munzkabinett, Cologne, before 2016.
Private European collection.
An emblematic instrument of the ancient sporting world, the strigil was mainly used by athletes as a scraper for personal hygiene. After training, which took place in the gymnasiums on tracks and arenas covered with sand, athletes and young people rubbed their skin with olive oil. They then used one of these distinctive scrapers remove the sand-oil mixture before washing in water. These actions are reproduced on famous statues (including Apoxyomenos, one of Lysippus’ masterpieces), on reliefs (such as funerary steles) as well as on countless vase paintings. In Attic and Italian red-figure imagery, the strigil is often depicted on perfume vases, like the aryballos and alabastron.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
-
Roman Bronze ROMA Brooch
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
The discoid body formed as an openwork monogram ROMA in Latin letters, the M and A ligated, the O formed by the brooch frame itself; ROMA also a palindrome for AMOR. 13.9 grams, 32 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman.
The brooch is engraved with stylised letters ‘RMA’. When viewed from the default side, RMA + the circle of the brooch form a monogram for ‘Roma’. Roma refers to both the city and its divine personification, the Dea Roma. When RMA is read from right to left (or the brooch is viewed from the opposite side), the letters form 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. -
Roman Glass and Other Bead Group
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Including oblate, melon, tubular, fusiform and other types. 29 grams total, 2-11 mm
Acquired from Allan Cherry at the Birmingham Coin & Antiquities Fair, UK, in 2006. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK. -
Roman and Other Bead Necklace
1st-4th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £20
A restrung designer necklace including oblate, biconvex and other types. 22.7 grams, 41.5 cm
Acquired on the London, UK, art market in the 1990s. Ex London, UK, gallery.
