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LOT 0858

Sold for (Inc. bp): £715

ROMAN IRON KEY WITH BRONZE LION HANDLE
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
5 in. (116 grams, 12.5 cm).

Formed as a lion extending from an acanthus leaf column capital, with forepaws outstretched and the head of a ram in its mouth; detailing to the full mane, ears, head and muzzle; ferrous shank with perpendicular wards.

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

LITERATURE:
See The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession numbers 06.176.26 and 06.176.48, for broadly comparable objects, dated 1st-7th century AD; see accession number 06.176.24, for a similar object formed as a horse; 06.176.71, for similar formed as a leaping feline.

CONDITION
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