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LOT 0121
Roman Inked Wooden Tablet for a Contract Between Bassus and Neronianus
4TH CENTURY A.D.
6 x 5 1/2 in. (40 grams, 15.1 x 13.9 cm).
A reused tablet with a recessed panel on one side, the last tablet of a legal document which consisted of two (diptychon) or three tablets (triptychon); ten black inked lines of New Roman cursive script, the end of a record of a transaction in formulaic legal language, probably a sales contract, between the buyer (emptor) Bassus and a person called Neronianus; traces of text (perhaps in rustic capitals) to the reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom an important London collection since 1975.
Accompanied by a collection of two 1970s photographs of the the tablet.
Rothenhoefer, P., Neue römische Rechtsdokumente aus dem Byzacena-Archiv / New Roman Legal Documents from the Byzacena Archive, (forthcoming).
LiteratureCf. Rothenhöfer, P., Blänsdorf, Jürgen, Sana mente sanaque memoria testa-mentum feci: Eine testamentarische Verfügung vom 12. April 340 n. Chr., Gephyra 13, 2016, pp.153-163; Rothenhöfer, P., Neues zum Testament des Pomponius Maximus aus dem Jahr 371 n. Chr., (forthcoming); see also Masi Doria, C., Dal testamento di Pomponius Maximus: prospettive del diritto ereditario tardo antico, in: Isola, L. (ed.), Klauselgestaltungen in Römischen Testamenten, Berlin, 2022, pp.151-175; also see Thomas, J. D., Vindolanda: The Latin Writing Tablets, Britannia Monograph Series No 4, London, 1983, for examples of wooden tabulae re-used as writing surfaces; 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.
FootnotesThe contract follows standard Roman legal formulae.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0121
Roman Inked Wooden Tablet for a Contract Between Bassus and Neronianus
Sold for (Inc. bp): £15,600
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Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp with Lion
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Loop handle to the rear, low discus with an advancing lion with its head turned to the right, hatched decoration on the shoulder; concentric circles to the base. 108 grams, 11.2 cm
Acquired on the European art market, 1980s. English private collection.
This lamp belongs to the group of Provincial African lamps with a plain shoulder and a heart-shaped nozzle. Usually they are classified as D IX, but Italic and African variants of D X are very similar and have the shoulders with closely spaced outward-slanted rays, separated from discus by two circular grooves, here hardly visible. -
Roman Terracotta Lion Rhyton
Late 2nd-early 3rd century A.D.Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,222
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with Sotheby’s London, 9 December 1994, no.221. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. Accompanied by copies of relevant Sotheby's catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11797-206532.
The lion was famously featured in many ancient myths, perhaps the most famous being that of Hercules (Herakles) slaying the Nemean lion for his first labour, but it was also linked with the cult of the goddess Cybele, where it is usually represented sculptured in relief on either side of her throne. -
Roman Glass Unguentarium
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
With bulbous body, flat bottom, barrel-shaped neck and everted rim. 38.9 grams, 10 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
