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Details
LOT 0776
Roman Gold Amulet Case
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
1/2 in. (0.78 grams, 14 mm).
Cylindrical body with domed finials with applied pellets, cornerless cube-shaped suspension loop with applied pellet and filigree annulets.
Provenance
Ex property of a late Japanese collector, 1970-2000s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Literature
Cf. Wamser L. and Zahlhaas, G., Rom und Byzanz, Archaologischen Kostbarkeiten aus Bayern, München, 1999, figs.305-306, for similar.
Footnotes
Assessing the typology and chronology of such amulet capsules is very difficult, and precise dating is usually impossible, especially since the context of the find is often unknown, as in this case. According to Schienerl, prismatic, usually hexagonal amulet capsules only appear in the 2nd or 3rd century, while the use of amulets in the Eastern Roman Empire ceased after the 7th century.
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