Roman Glass Spherical Bottle

Hollow-formed with fine detailing to the fingers and nails; with fixing points for a military standard (signum) used by each unit under a centurion, originally fixed with the palm facing forwards inside a wreath. 718 grams, 21 cm



Acquired in Europe before 2000. European 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 a search certificate number no.12003-211851. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Roman military signa decorated by phalerae and surmounted by a right hand were used from the Late Consular Age. The hand (manus) symbolised the fides, i.e. the allegiance between the soldiers and the Res Publica. It is also possible that the hand belonged to a statue in which it was extended as a sign of silence, to allow the speaker to speak. However, the iconography of military hands, and also the resemblance to a bronze hand (military signum) preserved in the Vindonissa museum (Windisch), support the possibility that the object was part of a military standard.

Containing numerous original photographs of archaeological digs, found artefacts, etc, including digs at Roman sites such as Hadrian's Wall, Colchester, Templeborough, Silchester, Viroconium, Mancunium, Wilderspool and Holt and published images from the Ny Carlsberg Glyptek, Copenhagen; mostly with handwritten identification; with a photograph of the archaeologist T. May M.A. F.S.A. at Richborough and dated 1926 and Wilderspool - possibly the owner of the book; a rare archive of the 1920s British archaeology. 2.03 kg, 26.3 x 20.5 cm



Acquired on the English art market circa 2017. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

The Roman furnaces at Wilderspool were excavated in 1905; the photographs are consistent in their appearance with that date.

Flat, thick-walled bowl, mould-made with 22 large ribs to the outer face below the rim extending to the middle of the base; reassembled from fragments. 140 grams, 11.1 cm wide



Ex Martin Wunsch, New York 1980s-1990s. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00098335. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.