Roman Gold Child's Ring

Terracotta fragment with impressed stamp '[...] XIIIIG' for Legio XIV Gemina. 345 grams, 14 cm



From the collection of a Buckinghamshire, UK, collector established from the earlier 1960s.

Legio XIV Gemina ("The Twinned Fourteenth Legion") was raised by Julius Caesar in 57 BC; its cognomen Gemina (Twinned) was added when it was merged with another legion after the Battle of Actium. It took part in the defeat of Boudicca in AD 61.

Carved in the round as a bust of a child with short hair combed into a peak, fleshy features, lips slightly parted in a smile, fitted to an 18th century marble pedestal; mounted on a display stand with collection note 'Buste d'Enfant / Epoque Romaine / 1er Siècle'. 6.12 kg total, 30 cm including stand



Collection of B. Poindessault (1935-2014), France, acquired before October 1975. Oger & Blanchet Enchères, Paris, 2014. German private collection, Cologne. Private collection, acquired in 2015. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Marina Mattei. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.S000104583 Accompanied by a copy of French passport no.167453. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12931-246329.

The finely sculpted head represents a young child, probably intended as Eros (Cupid). Such depictions were produced in numerous variations to illustrate the stages of childhood and the capacity of children to undertake meaningful or symbolic actions. The softly modelled features and gentle expression recall the celebrated work of Boethos, The Boy Strangling the Goose, as well as the widespread images of Eros and the Erotes found throughout Greco-Roman sculpture and painting. In Greco-Roman art, representations of children occupied an important and evolving role. Initially, youthful figures were portrayed as miniature adults, but from the 4th century BC onwards - particularly during the Hellenistic and Roman periods - artists began to study children’s anatomy more closely, reproducing their characteristic proportions and expressions with naturalistic sensitivity. The figure of Eros, the constant companion of Aphrodite, became the quintessential model of the child in ancient art, identifiable by his traditional attributes of wings and bow. As evidenced by numerous statuettes and wall paintings unearthed at Pompeii, scenes of childhood were among the most popular subjects for adorning the gardens and interiors of wealthy Roman villas. These figures appear in lively and varied activities - playing, working, performing, or interacting with animals such as birds, hares, and dolphins - celebrating both the charm and vitality of early life within an idealised artistic vision.

Composed of two conjoined tapering tubular cells, with lateral applied handles at the shoulder, decorated with applied trails; mounted on a custom-made stand. 53.7 grams, 11.6 cm (116 grams total, 13.5 cm including stand)



From an important London collection of glass, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

These late Roman double cosmetic tubes were mainly produced in the Eastern provinces. They were formed as two tubes, side by side, made from a single bubble of glass by pinching the sides vertically to form a diaphragm. The decoration consisted of a trail wound once around the body just below the rim, and a further trail wound in a spiral several times around the body.