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LOT 0109
Roman Inked Reused Wooden Wax Tablet For a Contract Negotiated and Agreed at Titiiuni between Maianus and Silvanus
EARLY 4TH CENTURY A.D.
7 1/8 in. (64 grams, 18.2 cm).
Well preserved rectangular tablet inscribed in Roman cursive script, on the outer face the beginnings of a contract and the signatures of witnesses, the inner side with a recessed panel inscribed with fourteen lines of Roman cursive script, on the outer face right of the sulcus the signatures of five witnesses, to the left the beginning of the contract: 'the pactum et conventum was made between Maianus, son of Dontiquus, and a person called Silvanus; Maianus was born shortly before A.D. 281 and reached an advanced age as he is still attested after AD 360'; the text consists inter alia of typical Roman legal formula like stipulatus est … – spopondidit … - testati sunt …, including the note: Actum Titiiuni, which may be understood as ‘negotiated and agreed at Titiiuni’. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired by Albert Sfez in the early 1950s.
Formerly the property of Monsieur Alain Sfez, a Belgian collector; acquired by gift from his father Albert Sfez, in 1965.
Acquired by a London dealer in 1973.
From an important London collection since 1975; thence by descent.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12525-230804.
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.
Rothenhoefer, P., Neue römische Rechtsdokumente aus dem Byzacena-Archiv / New Roman Legal Documents from the Byzacena Archive, (forthcoming).
Exhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 21st January-10th March 2025; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.
Cf. Rothenhöfer, Peter Jürgen Blänsdorf, Sana mente sanaque memoria testamentum feci: Eine testamentarische Verfügung vom 12. April 340 n. Chr., Gephyra 13 (2016), pp.153-163; Rothenhöfer, Peter - Wang, Weixia Flavius Aelius Victorinus praeses provinciae Numidiae, VDI 2025 (forthcoming); Wang, Wexia, Vibius Flavianus, First Governor of the provincia Valeria Byzacena, VDI 2025 (forthcoming); for examples of testamentary documents on wooden tablets that have survived, see FIRA III, p. 47; for Anthony Silvanus from 142 AD; also see BGU VII 1695 for Safinnius Herminus; for another from Transfynydd, North Wales, see Arch. Camb. 150, pp. 143-156; and see Bowman, A.K., Life and letters on the Roman frontier: Vindolanda and its people, London, 1994, for discussion of the uses of Roman writing tablets.
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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LOT 0109
Roman Inked Reused Wooden Wax Tablet For a Contract Negotiated and Agreed at Titiiuni between Maianus and Silvanus
Sold for (Inc. bp): £12,350
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Roman Silver Eagle Statuette
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Modelled in the round with wings folded flat against the sides, legs bent, feet absent. 6.48 grams, 30 mm
From an English collection formed before 2000. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Possibly a fitting from a vessel. -
Late Roman Menorah Tile with Traces of Original Pigment
4th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £22,100
Octagonal in plan with chamfered edges to the marble surface; engraved central square with birds in the upper corners and spandrels below, enclosing a bilinear ring with menorah on a stand between etrog and lulav; mounted on a custom-made stand. 577 grams total, 14.2 cm including stand
From an important UK collection, London, 1970-1990s. Ex London, UK, collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12527-231879. 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.
An extremely rare and fine example of the type. The menorah is first mentioned in the Book of Exodus (25:31–40), according to which the design of the lamp was revealed to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. The candlestick was to be forged out of a single piece of gold and was to have six branches, ‘three on one side, and three on the other’, There are no extant images of the menorah from the First Temple period, but many examples dating from the Second Temple period have been recorded. The menorah was often depicted flanked by symbolic ritual objects. Here, with what appear to be the etrog (citron) and lulav (date-palm branch) of the festival of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). A new Menorah was installed in the Second Temple, built after the return from exile in Babylon. This was looted by Antiochos Epiphanes in 169 BCE when he desecrated the Temple. With tragic wit, the Jews named him Epimanes, or ‘the madman’, when it became apparent that his policies were violently anti-Jewish. However, after the Maccabean Revolt (167-160 BCE) Judas Maccabeus ordered the construction of a new seven-branched candelabra to be placed in the Temple. The rededication is still celebrated with the festival of Hanukkah (‘to dedicate’). According to rabbinic tradition, the victorious Maccabees could only find a small jug of pure olive oil uncontaminated by virtue of a seal, and although it only contained enough oil to sustain the Menorah for one day, it miraculously lasted for eight days, by which time further oil had been found. The Menorah was subject to Roman plunder after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE; according to Josephus, it was displayed during the Roman triumphal march, the scene of which is famously depicted in a frieze on the Arch of Titus along with other spoils of the destroyed temple. For centuries, the Menorah and the other temple treasures were displayed as war booty in the Templum Pacis in Rome or in the Imperial Palace and was still there when the city was sacked by the Vandals in 455 CE. Although the Menorah disappeared and the Talmud forbade its reconstruction, it became a popular symbol signifying Judaism. Representations of the Menorah often decorated tombs, walls, floors of synagogues and amulets. -
Roman Glass Lachrymatory
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
With long, narrow neck separated from the body by a constriction; funicular mouth. 19 grams, 12.3 cm
Ex W.Kern, Zurich, 1950s-1970s (d.1980s). Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00086748. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
A lachrymatory (from Latin lacrima, tear) is a type of earthenware or, more commonly, glass container found in Roman and Greek tombs, thought to be bottles into which the relatives of the deceased had dropped their tears. They most likely contained ointments, and the discovery of so many of these containers (unguentaria) in tombs is due to the use of ointments in funeral ceremonies. These lachrymatories are usually shaped like a spindle or flask with a long neck and a bulb-shaped body.
