Roman Gold Ring with Gryllos Gemstone

Hollow-formed with fluting to the shoulders and foliage panel to the underside, plaque with inset garnet cabochon bearing an eagle in three-quarter view gripping a lightning bolt, head turned, laurel wreath in the beak; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 11.80 grams, 30.64 mm overall, 17.06 x 12.36 mm internal diameter (approximate size British F, USA 2 3/4, Europe 3.67, Japan 2 3/4)



From the collection of a deceased lady, 1990s. Ex London, UK, gentleman, 2000s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12523-231876. 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.

This splendid intaglio of an eagle depicts what Pliny the Elder calls the: ‘most honourable and strongest of all birds’ (Naturalis Historis.10.3.1), and Aelian remarks that it possesses the ‘keenest sight of all birds’ (De natura animalium. 1.42). However, the animal was not revered in antiquity solely out of admiration for its natural attributes, it was esteemed during the Greek, Roman Republican and Imperial times as the bird that held the lightning of the sky god Zeus/Jupiter, whose identifying symbol is the thunderbolt and his primary sacred animal is the eagle. It is also a symbol of Victory, power and immortality, since it is associated with the passage of a deified emperor’s spirit into the world of the immortals. The primary military use of the eagle was as a standard, which comprised of a golden or gilded metal eagle, clutching thunderbolts in its talons, perched atop a long metal pole with a butt-spike for planting in the ground. Both Ovid and Plutarch place the inception of manipular ensigns with Romulus, where bundles (manipuli) of hay were tied to high poles which served as rallying points for units of the army. Eventually, icons of animals replaced these ensigns: the eagle, wolf, Minotaur, horse, and boar. In 107 B.C., Gaius Marius made sweeping military reforms and the Aquila became the sole standard of the legion, which according to (Pliny NH. 10.5.16) ‘By making the Aquila the standard for all legions improved unity and gave soldiers a symbol that expressed their attachment to an all-encompassing body, to which the soldiers’ loyalty could be directed’. Due to its place at the head of each legion, it became the emblem of the Roman legions, which enforced Roman rule in the provinces, giving the eagle its connotation of dominion.

Group of five iron clout-nails permanently mounted in a wooden display case with sloping sides and sliding glazed lid; with information panel 'Iron Nails / From / Roman Legionary Fortress / at / Inchtuthil, Perthshire, Scotland / A.D.83-87'; supplied with a printout on the subject of the Inchtuthil fortress. 589 grams total, 35.7 x 15 cm



From excavations started by Richmond in Perthshire, Scotland, from the 1950s, and discovered in the summer of 1960. Selected and boxed by David Colville & Sons by 1963. Acquired from a private Scottish collection in the early 2000s. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985. Accompanied by a copy of an online information sheet. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

The fortress at Inchtuthil was a fortified headquarters and forward supply depot for the forces led by the Roman governor, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, when he undertook a lengthy campaign against the Caledonian tribes in the north of Britain. The campaign is mentioned in the biographical work written by his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, which has been studied in order to understand the Roman plan for the subjugation of the island. The troops chosen for the campaign were drawn from the 20th Legion (Legio XX Valeria Victrix). While the construction of Inchtuthil and other strongholds took place, the troops lived in temporary encampments which were also fortified and formed a chain of defensive sites from which domination of the surrounding territory could be achieved. Subsequently once the site was abandoned late in the 1st century A.D., (around 86 A.D.) no further building took place there or in the area. Excavation in the 20th century by Sir Ian Richmond (begun in 1952) revealed a pristine site with its complete plan recoverable - unique in the Roman Empire. The defences were a broad ditch and turf wall with stone facing, with watchtowers and gatehouses. The site was thought to have been abandoned due to relocation of troops to counter an invasion from eastern Europe into the province of Dacia, although this is no longer certain. A huge quantity of iron nails (more than 875,000) was recovered from a pit in the fort as well as other ironware; the goods had been buried in order not to let them fall into the hands of the Caledonians. The excavated nails and other items were sorted and sold in small parcels, which was completed by 1963.The nails range in size from small nails between thirty-eight and seventy millimetres long, up to the massive spikes three hundred and seventy-two millimetres long. These kind of long nails were also used for crucifixions.

The upper face divided into decorative segments with punched ring-and-dot motifs divided by horizontal and vertical lines. 34.3 grams, 73 mm



Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.