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LOT 0776
Roman Gold Hercules Knot Ring with Beads
1ST CENTURY A.D.
5/8 in. (0.99 grams, 17.07 mm overall, 15.75 mm internal diameter (approximate size British F 1/2, USA 3, Europe 4.3, Japan 4)).
With slender wire shank formed into a knot for the bezel, blue glass seed beads to the shoulders and a gold collar with applied granule detailing.
ProvenanceFrom a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s.
LiteratureCf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 214, 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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Roman Bronze Spanish Military Monkey Statuette
4th century A.D.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £444
Modelled seated on a polygonal base wearing a paenula, the right hand placed on the left shoulder, head tilted to one side, right hand placed on a stela or lantern. 23.9 grams, 34 mm
‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection.
The monkey is bearing a military sagum with cucullus and is holding beside him a squared lucerna. This representation can be a Roman military mascot or simply a grotesque. In 2001 in Spain, at Llivia, remains of Barbary apes with military belt buckles typically related to the late Roman period were discovered. The discovery of this type of belt buckle in a human grave would suggest that they were once a part of this army, so the fact that some were given to a Barbary ape means that the apes may have played a military role, for example, acted as targets to distract the enemy, or had a combat or defence role. Apes were also a common form of pet in the Graeco-Roman world. -
Large Eastern Roman Bronze Bust-Shaped Steelyard Weight
Circa 3rd-4th century A.D. or laterEstimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
Modelled in the round as a facing female with head turned slightly right, with semi-naturalistic facial detailing and dressed hair; lead-filled. 4.2 kg, 13.5 cm high
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.
Steelyard weights in the form of human or deities faces were not uncommon in the Roman period (see SWYOR-DA4426, OXON-4391B5, HAMP-BD4D67 and NARC-7A7B81 on the PAS). These were generally filled with lead and had iron or copper suspension loops projecting from the top of the head. -
Roman Period Blackware Bowl
Circa 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Comprising a hemispherical black-glazed terracotta body with slightly everted rim, raised circumferential bands to the shoulder, small raised foot, flat bottom. 274 grams, 12.5 cm wide
Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance.
The most interesting feature of this bowl is that its whole outline suggests that it has been copied from a Terra Sigillata bowl of type Dragendorff. The moulded figures of the decorated original were, however, probably outside of the craftsman's range, and in places the surface of the bowl is covered with a crudely executed ornamented band.
