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LOT 0838
Roman Eagle Gemstone in Silver Ring
2ND CENTURY A.D. AND LATER
1 in. (4.45 grams, 25.52 mm overall, 19.60 mm internal diameter (approximate size British S 1/2, USA 9 1/4, Europe 20.63, Japan 19)).
Domed intaglio of an eagle in flight over a baseline; later silver ring.
ProvenancePrivate collection, England.
LiteratureCf. Ruseva-Slokoska, L., Roman Jewellery, Sofia, 1991, item 269, for type.
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 Bronze Scalpel Medical Instrument
1st-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Round-section handle with bulb finial and ribbed baluster, narrow swept blade. 38.4 grams, 20.9 cm
From 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. -
Roman Footed Terracotta Bowl
2nd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Squat with squared rim, three stub feet, hole to base. 371 grams, 16.2 cm wide
From 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. -
Roman Marble Janiform Herm Head of Ariadne and a Maenad
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,050
Carved architectural element depicting a double herm comprising: a diademed female bust with long wavy hair framing the face, slender features with small mouth and raised lids; the other side with a diademed female with hair arranged in neat curls on the forehead, large eyes and small mouth, taenia shown on each side of the neck; base reworked with drilled sockets for mounting. 12.6 kg, 29 cm high
Old collection, acquired in the 1970s. Acquired by inheritance from Mr N.S. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Marina Mattei and Dr Laura Maria Vigna. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12084-211893.
The head with elaborately curled hair and diadem could represent Ariadne, as shown by comparisons with a fragment of a two-faced herm with bearded Dionysus and Ariadne preserved in the Antiquarium Ostiense, dated to the lmperial Roman age. The heads could be interpreted either as Ariadne and a Maenad, or as two Maenads being characterised by the diadem and long taeniae. The association of these figures with Dionysus is congruent with the typology of the herm, which refers to rural places and theatres. Numerous herms in fact attest that this type of sculpture was used in contexts linked to Dionysus and his sacred procession as well as, obviously, the representation of Ariadne, his female partner and double. The example fits into the class of domestic sculpture with a decorative function, mostly used to adorn peristyles and viridaria; the type placed at the crown of columns and pillars is quite documented, in particular in the version with the head of Dionysus contrasted with that of Ariadne or a Maenad.
