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LOT 0073
Roman Garnet Gemstone with Bust of Julia Domna
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
3/4 in. (3.06 grams, 21 mm).
With incuse profile female bust with copious tiered curls and braids, palla to the shoulder; supplied with a museum-quality impression.
ProvenanceEx London, UK, gentleman, 1990s.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13002-244442.
Cf. similar cameo in Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, accession no. 62.577.
FootnotesJulia Domna (170-217 A.D.) was one of the most honoured imperial women in the course of the Principate. Almost 600 inscriptions bear her name; numerous coin types portray her together with the emperors; important artworks where she is depicted (such as the Kassel Cameo, the Arch of the Argentarii and the Severan Arch in Leptis Magna) demonstrate that she occupied no secondary position in the Severan regime. She appears, consequently, to be a key figure of this period.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0073
Roman Garnet Gemstone with Bust of Julia Domna
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
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Large Eastern Roman Green Glass Bottle with Iridescence
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,250
Piriform in profile with a narrow neck and flared mouth with a chamfered rim, dimple base. 945 grams, 29.5 cm high
From the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès private collection. with Artcurial, Paris, 25 March 2014, no.39. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12959-245241.
On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence and desirability of the piece. -
Roman Glass Vessel and Later Artefact Collection
5th-18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Comprising: miniature blue glass jar with flared neck; fragment of painted ceramic rim; crotal bell; miniature hand bell with concentric ring decoration. 150 grams total, 43.5-70 mm
From the old private collection of a retired UK gentleman; his collection formed in the 1990s. -
Roman Bone Dice Pair
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Each cuboid with incised ring-and-dot motifs disposed 1:6, 2:5, 3:4 and 1:2, 3:?, 5:?. 2.82 grams total, 8 x 9 mm
From a collection of gaming items, formed 1980-1990s.
