Roman Fresco Painted Wall Plaster Collection

A substantial ornamental silver armour phalera with gilt detailing, embossed face of the Gorgon, Medusa, to the centre with detailed eyes, eyebrows and mouth, strong nasal ridge extending towards the forehead, furrowed brow with a pair of wings emerging from the curly hair framing the face, a pair of snakes knotted beneath the chin; wide edge with beaded rim and wavy pointillé decoration; accompanied by a discoid bronze sheet to which the fastening pins were attached to. 113 grams total, 8.8-12.5 cm

Cracked

Acquired in 1970. with Coins and Antiquities, formerly known as D.J. Crowther Ltd, Mayfair, London, UK. Private collection of a London antiquarian. English private collection. 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.10623-174245.

Discoid military decorations usually depicted the heads of the gods, spirits of the underworld, birds and lions, Medusa being the most popular subject. Sets of phalerae, similar to those shown on monuments dedicated to Marcus Caelius, Quintus Sertorius Festus and Celer Allius, were found in Neuss, Lauersfort and Newstead. Our phalera finds parallel in similar examples from the magnificent Lauersfort set, echoing the decoration visible on the gravestone of centurion Caelius from Bonn, depicted with a corona civica on his head, the best-known silver military decorations of the early Imperial Age. The higher officers in the Roman army had the custom of wearing such rich suits of phalerae with the straps attached directly to leather garments or doublets, worn over their armour. One such example can be seen on the gravestone of the Aquilifer G. Musius (Jahn, 1860, taf.II; D’Amato, 2018, p.54), where the phalerae are worn over a leather structure like a doublet over the subarmalis. Wearing a double-padded armour under the doublet provided twice as much protection to the warrior and enhanced the phalerae worn over the doublet. These decorations were awarded in sets, commonly of nine, although the sources confirm that this was not an absolute rule. They were worn in a similar fashion to medals on the chest, attached to a leather harness of straps, which ran straight around and up and down the front of the chest, and continued over the shoulders and around the back where they were fastened with buckles (Maxfield, 1981, pp.92-93).

A blue fusiform glass vessel composed of an everted rim, elongated tubular neck with short expanded body and integral foot; iridescent surfaces; repaired. 29 grams, 20.7 cm high



Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private collection since 1998.

A group of five copper-alloy animal brooches, comprising: a peacock with feather and head detailing; leaping hound in profile right; openwork horse standing right, pin lug and pin to reverse; frog with large circular eyes, pin lug, pin and catchplate to reverse; lion running right with remaining enamel detailing, pin lug, pin and catchplate to reverse. 36 grams total, 34-43 mm



Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.