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LOT 0155
Roman Gold Earrings with Shield
3RD-4TH CENTURY A.D.
1 5/8 - 1 3/4 in. (6.57 grams total, 42-44 mm).
A matched pair, each a braided hoop with an applied shield-shaped disc, collar with a cluster of hollow spherical grapes with granule clusters below. [2]
ProvenanceAcquired in 1992.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
See Ruseva-Slokoska, L., Roman Jewellery, Sofia, 1991, item32(a), for type.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0155
Roman Gold Earrings with Shield
Estimate £700 - 900€810 - 1,040 (for guidance only)$950 - 1,220 (for guidance only)
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Roman Enamelled Bronze Seal Box Pair
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Comprising two boxes with lids decorated with enamelling, holes to the reverse. 12.8 grams total, 27 mm each
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Roman Glass Double Unguentarium
3rd-5th century A.D.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £200
Comprising two conjoined tapering tubular cells, with applied handles at the shoulder, decorated with applied trails. 72.5 grams, 11.3 cm
Acquired from a London, UK, gallery, 1980s.From a North American gentleman's collection, 1980-1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Roman Mosaic with Kantharos and Vines
4th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
An attractive rectangular panel of mosaic tesserae with central ribbed kantharos executed in coral pink, amber-yellow, and green segments with tiered foot; issuing from the scaphoid opening two vines with curled tendrils and trefoil leaves in pale green; white field with grey-black border; restored and set into a mid 20th century reinforced mortar matrix. 56 kg, 67.5 x 67.5 cm
Acquired in the 1950s-early 1990s. From the Igor Karmiloff (1925-2016) collection, UN economist and author of Flashbacks, Icons of Impermanence, Bloomington, 2009. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12746-233888. 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 motif of the kantharos, krater or amphora with vines emerging from the mouth is widely represented in classical art and was seemingly a popular motif for the mosaicist with examples found in areas as widespread as North Africa and northern Britain. The origins of the motif are probably to be found in the cult of Bacchus (Greek Dionysos) with its ritualised drunkenness expressed in the vine which gives rise to the grapes to be transformed into wine, and the drinking cup from which it is received. In later Roman times, the motif was reinterpreted as Christ (the Eucharist symbolised by the cup) from whom the vine grows representing the spread of the Christian message and the growth of the church (Watts, 1991, p.208).
