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LOT 0159
Roman Carnelian Gemstone with Two Victories
4TH CENTURY A.D.
5/8 in. (1.64 grams, 17 mm).
The oval intaglio engraved with two winged Victories, facing each other in profile, wearing long garments crossed on the breast like a trabea consularis, both holding a staff-standard with a double forked tip.
ProvenanceAcquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s.
Important North West London collection.
Cf. a very similar winged Victory in a 7th century A.D. pendant with an ancient Roman gemstone, in Kornbluth, G., ‘The Transformative Power of the Metalwork Mount’ in Entwistle, C., Adams, N., Gems of Heaven, recent research on engraved Gemstones in Late Antiquity, c. AD 200-600, London, 2011, p.254, pl.21.
FootnotesThe iconography of two Victories facing each other is clearly from Late Antiquity and reflects the images of the two victorious empires - East and West - that, transformed into winged Nikes, are holding together the standard with the chi-rho (the two Greek letters forming the initials of the name of Christ), conceived as a long shaft topped by the Greek letter P (R) and the superimposed letter X.
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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LOT 0159
Roman Carnelian Gemstone with Two Victories
Estimate £800 - 1,000€930 - 1,160 (for guidance only)$1,080 - 1,350 (for guidance only)
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Roman Bronze Standing Lion Statuette
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Modelled in the round with naturalistic detailing, standing with head turned to the right. 12.3 grams, 26 mm wide
‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection. -
Roman Terracotta Fragment Group
1st century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £26
Mainly from vessels and tiles, including base, rim and body fragments, together with decorated oil lamp fragments. 927 grams total, 1.1-16 cm
Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance. -
Roman Pewter Cignus Spoon with Coiled Swan-Neck Handle
4th century A.D.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £125
With large oval bowl and a long, slender handle, compressed into S-shape and terminating in a stylised bird’s head. 42.4 grams, 85 mm
Found near Welney, Cambridgeshire, in 1985.
Similar silver spoons (cygni), were found within a set of ten spoons (today at the British Museum with inventory nos. 1994,0408.81-90) with ownership inscriptions. The handle attachment of such spoons had some decorative profiling, and the name 'AVRVRSICINI' within the bowl was inlaid with niello. The spoons seems to have been produced by a Romano-British workshop of Late Antiquity (4th-5th centuries A.D.). The cygnus was a particular type of ligula. This type was characterised by a large, oval-shaped bowl, but was equipped, unlike the common ligula, with a shortened, recurved handle which terminated in a stylised water bird or swan's head (swan = cygnus in Latin).
