Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0143
Roman Gold Ring with Warrior Gemstone
1ST CENTURY B.C.
5/8 in. (1.16 grams, 17.75 mm overall, 14.32 mm internal diameter (approximate size British F, USA 2 3/4, Europe 3.67, Japan 3)).
A hollow-formed gold finger ring with inset carnelian intaglio scene with reclining warrior surrounded by his arms and armour.
Provenance
with Bertolami Fine Art, 22 April 2022, lot 148.
English private collection.
Literature
Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 134.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0143
Roman Gold Ring with Warrior Gemstone
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
RELATED LOTS
-
Roman Bone Spoon
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
A bone spoon with a shallow piriform bowl and tapering round-section stem, two concentric V-shaped channels to the bowl reverse; tip of stem lost in antiquity. 5.96 grams, 10.6 cm
Acquired 1969-1999. London collection of the late Mr S.M., thence by descent. -
'The Witherley' Roman Lead Pig Ingot
4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,600
A substantial lead pig (ingot), sub-rectangular in plan and plano-convex in section, reserved partial numerical inscription to central recess on the upper face, possibly: ‘CCCXXXXI’ or 341 Roman libra, a denomination of weight and the original weight of the ingot. 74 kg, 48 cm
Fine condition. Rare.
Found while searching with a metal detector on Wednesday 2nd September 2020 in Witherley, Leicestershire, UK, at a depth of 57cm by Nick Thorpe. Accompanied by Portable Antiquities Scheme Report number LEIC-62F9AF. Accompanied by a copy of a full page article published in Treasure Hunting Magazine, March 2021. Accompanied by copies of four photographs taken during excavation, and a hand written letter from the finder explaining the circumstances of finding. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.10791-178320.
Although ingots are known to have been made in many shapes, the plano-convex shape was the most commonly used during the Roman period (Tylecote, 1987, p.204). The Witherley lead pig is certainly, at the moment, one of the largest of its kind found in Britain. The inscription relates to its weight in Roman libra, and it seems that originally the weight of the complete ingot was circa 110 kg. Such inscriptions appear on Roman ingots from the early Imperial Age onwards, see for example Gale Brown (2011, no.61.3ff.) The high percentage of lead in our ingot (97.9% lead, 1.5 % iron by XRF), is far higher than many other known specimens. Roman ingots are particularly important in many respects: in addition to their use for dating various phases of commercial activity, they can reveal the extent to which standardisation of weights was practised. The presence of numerical markings has led to suggestions of the existence of a 'standard weight' of 195 Roman libra (63.85 kg). -
Roman and Other Bead Necklace
1st century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £39
A restrung group of mainly opaque blue glass beads of various types. 9.54 grams, 65 cm long
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.