Roman Glass Amphora

Comprising various figures and mounts including: a sheep, a fly, a peacock, an anthropomorphic head, a mount with a lying feline and a crouching figure. 94 grams total, 18-40 mm



Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance.

In the art of late antiquity and early Christianity, during the Christian Middle Ages to the present, peacock held a prominent place, not only as a decorative motif, but also as a distinctive emblematic and symbolic sign. Its image was usually combined with a kantharos or a tree of life. Individually or in pairs, it was usually represented on places which were the ones closest to the holiest part of churches (altar’s parapet wall panels). Votive statuettes were brought in the church by the believers.

The oval intaglio engraved with a man driving a pair of oxen with plough to left, a detailed tree with branches in the background, ground line under the oxen. 0.38 grams, 10 mm



Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Important North West London collection.

The gem could refer to the Augustan program of restoration of peace and security in the empire, after the agitated period of civil wars, with the possibility for men to return peacefully to their lands in a now peaceful empire. However, we cannot exclude that the image also refers to the well-known episode of Greek mythology, when Odysseus, to escape the call to arms in Troy, feigned madness by ploughing the fields without interruption, until he was unmasked by Palamedes, cousin of Agamemnon, who placed Odysseus' infant son Telemachus in front of the plough, forcing Odysseus to stop and reveal feigned insanity.

Comprising various types including bottles and flasks in blue and pale green. 32 grams total, 21-57 mm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.