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LOT 0182
Roman Gold Ring with Green Cabochon
3RD-6TH CENTURY A.D.
7/8 in. (4.69 grams, 22.63 mm overall, 16.86 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M 1/2, USA 6 1/4, Europe 13.09, Japan 12)).
The hoop recessed and decorated with a simple plait formed with three separate rods; granulated pyramids beneath the square bezel framed with a pelletted band, raised setting with a green glass cabochon. [No Reserve]
ProvenancePrivate collection USA.
From the Alexander Gallery, New York, USA, in the early 2000s.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12106-214327.
Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 276, for type.
FootnotesPreviously these rings were generally dated later, however, according to Chadour, the shape is more typical of the 2nd-3rd century A.D. The gem however can also be of later date, because the use of the emerald was more typical of the late empire. The decoration of the shoulders with the plait reminisces Celto-Roman patterns.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Bronze Reclining Hercules Statuette
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
Hollow-formed figure of Hercules resting with his weight on his left arm, cradling his club; lionskin mantle drawn over his head and covering his shoulders, back and thighs; right arm resting on his right thigh, holding a corner of the mantle; scaphoid base with attachment holes; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 4.28 kg total, 25 cm wide including stand
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
This bronze was probably a chariot decoration. Hercules is represented here in mature age, bearded and with a cap and body covered by the skin of the Nemean Lion, killed in the first of his labours. This kind of image of Hercules was mainly widespread in the second to third century A.D., when emperors like Commodus and Maximianus Herculius identified themselves as the new Hercules at the top of the Roman state. -
Roman and Other Glass and Stone Bead Group
1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £208
Comprising a quantity of mixed beads, mainly oblate and cylindrical in form, including glass, modelled, faience and stone etc. 58.5 grams total, 1-14 mm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
The use of amber beads as amulets in the Roman world is well attested, even in Britain (series of bracelets have been found in late Roman graves at Cirencester and Colchester). The amber beads were associated with pierced coins, pierced dog’s teeth and a lunate pendant. Pliny said that amber was beneficial to infants ‘when attached to the body in the form of an amulet'. -
Roman Bronze Harpokrates-Eros Statuette
Circa 2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Seated nude wearing the double-crown and with his forefinger pressed to his lips; supporting a frond on his left arm; hollow to the underside. 48 grams, 56 mm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
Harpokrates was the Greek interpretation of the Egyptian god Har-pa-khered (Horus the child), usually depicted as a small boy. Statues of Harpokrates are preserved in the Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria (inv.25785), and at the Musei Capitolini, Rome (inv. Scu 646).
