Roman Glass Unguentarium

Group of three rectangular mounts each with a beaded border and low-relief motif. 12.2 grams total, 31-34 mm



Property of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985. From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman.

Comprising a vertical shank with arc of granules above, ring and suspension loop; four glass beads to the shank, lobe finial. 0.83 grams, 22 mm



From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s.

Worked in high-relief with hairstyle typical of the transitional period from the Consulate to the Empire; oval face with a prominent forehead, oval eyelids and clearly defined lines around the eyes; hair arranged in vertical lines combed back from the forehead; pronounced lips, typical rendering of the wide auricles; the lower part of the tunic visible with a well defined round edge around the neck; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 5.94 kg total, 22.5 cm high including stand



Acquired from Gallery Gryphos, Munich, 1992. 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 search certificate number no.11996-211878.

The head was probably pertinent to a series of funerary family portraits. It has realistic modelling of male features, which speaks of a portrait in reduced dimensions or a reference to a well-known person in the environment where it was exhibited. The portrait is worked only on the front, leaving the back, as well as the lower part of the sculpture, roughly treated.