Roman Gold Bracteate Pendant with Military Eagle Between Two Standards

A designer necklace composed of mainly oblate beads, central feature composed of large barrel-shaped bead with a suspended glass ring below; restrung. 14.9 grams, 30.3 cm



From the London, UK, art market in the 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

In the Roman period there was a strong formal and chromatic diversity of glass beads used for necklaces and bracelets. The most common beads in forms were small biconical (lenticular), barrel-shaped, spherical and annular; the most common colours were dark blue, followed by green and yellow. The succession of glass beads often imitates jewellery made of costly materials (gold, silver, semi-precious and precious stones). Green, blue-green, blue, yellow, and black drawn and rounded glass beads (like here) are late Roman types.

Aqua glass cup with squat bell-shaped sidewall, rounded neck, footed base. 15 grams, 90 mm



Ex Mayfair, London, UK, gallery, 1990s-2000s. From an important collection of glass, the property of a London gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Modelled in the round, the goddess standing nude on a socle base and holding a frond in her extended left hand; right hand with thumb and forefinger extended; crown of oak leaves encompassing her chignon. 996 grams, 27.3 cm



with Sotheby's, New York, 7 December 1973, no.78. Private collection, London. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Sotheby's catalogue pages. 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.12819-241350. 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.

The Venus Anadyomene shows the birth of the Goddess of Love, conceived in the womb of the sea after the Titan Chronos castrated his father, Uranus, and cast his genitals into the water. Venus was born from the sea, fully grown. In ancient tradition, Aphrodite had her great sanctuary at Paphos, because it was here that she was thought to have risen from the water. Apelles, the great painter, was said to have painted the original, creating the prototype then imitated in paintings, sculptures, and across Graeco-Roman iconography. However, his work is now lost, and from the late 2nd century/early first century B.C. until the late antique period, the Anadyomene appeared in nearly every format imaginable. Like many other naked Aphrodites, the Anadyomene was not posed to conceal the body, but was naked and unashamed, exposing the goddess’ body to the gaze of the viewer.