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LOT 0100
Roman Gold Ring with Portrait Cameo
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D.
3/4 in. (5.03 grams, 20.13 mm overall, 15.77 mm internal diameter (approximate size British G 1/2, USA 3 1/2, Europe 5.55, Japan 5)).
Openwork heart-shaped shoulders and reef-knot to the underside, ellipsoid cell with inset cameo.
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1980s.
American private collection.
with Bonhams, London, 23 October 2013, lot 163.
Accompanied by a previous dealer's catalogue and price card (£3,750.00).
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.203078.
Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 208, 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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Large Roman Bronze Cockerel Statuette
3rd-4th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £278
Modelled free-standing and in the round with stylised anatomical detailing. 109 grams, 77 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. -
Roman Bronze Scallop Shell Attachment Pair
Circa 2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £833
Each composed of shell-shaped body with a D-shaped lug to reverse, the lug with tapering spike to the centre. 343 grams total, 12.5 cm each
Private collection, Rosenheim, Germany, 1960s.
This pair could have been used as a double key or door lock, based on comparison with some keys from the territory of Gaul (Boucher, 1971, pp.200-201). They comprised a strong ring with polygonal-section stem and a rectangular point. -
Roman Bronze Military Monkey
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 played a military role, for example, acted as targets to distract the enemy, or were used in type of a combat or for defence. Apes were also a very common form of pet in the Graeco-Roman world.
