Roman Glass Candlestick Unguentarium

Carved with a rounded face and small mouth, hair arranged in neat curls with central partition; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 7.1 kg total, 29 cm including stand



From a private French collection. Acquired in France before 1993. From the personal collection of Gordon Gridley. Gordon Gridley was a founding member of the Camden Passage antique dealers’ association. Trading in antiques from the late 1960s, he opened his first shop in 1971 and remained a well-known and respected figure in the antiques world until his retirement.

Modelled in the half-round with a dressed hair and stylised facial features; bare-chested except for a folded cloak fastened over his left shoulder. 34.5 grams, 42.5 mm



Acquired from J. S. Fine Art, Bodicote, Oxfordshire, UK. Property of a Shropshire private collector.

Comprising a large edge section with impressed olive tree, with details of branches, fruit and foliage. 87 grams, 17 cm



Acquired 1960s-1990s. From the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.

The representation of an olive tree on this sigillata is not casual. In the early Imperial period the export of the Adriatic olive oil, following the amber road, moved from Aquileia to the provinces of Roman Pannonia. During the 3rd century, the production of the Spanish olive oil reached the Northern Roman provinces. Olives were transported in particular amphorae and served with specific vessels, distinguishing the black olives (olivae nerae) from the white olives (olivae albae).