Roman Iron Key with Bronze Lion Handle

Composed mainly of long tubular beads; restrung. 9.16 grams, 42 cm



From the London, UK, art market in the 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

In the Roman period there was a strong formal and chromatic diversity of glass beads used for necklaces and bracelets. The most common beads in forms were small biconical (lenticular), barrel-shaped, spherical and annular; the most common colours were dark blue, followed by green and yellow. The succession of glass beads often imitates jewellery made of costly materials (gold, silver, semi-precious and precious stones).

Comprising two imposing slabs, the first formed as an irregular block with three possibly later polished sides, with the other three sides presenting a descending wall and two hollows carved in the upper and lower part; the second one formed as a parallelepiped with round corner having a possibly later polished side and the other three sides straight and round, with signs of carving; probably from an Imperial sarcophagus or monument; both mounted on a custom-made stand. 44.75 kg total, 31-36 cm including stands



Acquired from the private collection of a Somerset gentleman who was related to Sir Arthur Evans. From the private collection of a UK gentleman since before 2005. 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.12759-237181. 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.

For the Romans, porphyry was the Imperial marble par excellence, and from Constantine the Great until the end of the 5th century, but probably also later, it was used to create sarcophagi for the emperors and members of the Imperial families. This particular stone was connected with the Imperial family because of its red colour, recalling the violet and red shades of the purple (porphyra), the precious colour assigned only to emperors and their relatives. In Constantinople, a room of the Imperial palace was called Porphýra, located on one of the palace terraces overlooking the Sea of Marmara and the Bosphorus. It was perfectly square in shape with a pyramidal ceiling and was entirely covered in purple porphyry speckled with white dots: this was the room where the empresses gave birth to the heir of the Roman Empire, called Porphyrogénnētos, meaning ‘born in the purple room’. Porphyry was widely used for building churches in the Christian Empire, and Justinian exhausted the supplies from Egypt by building the Great Church of Hagia Sophia, where still today a great amount of this material can be seen. The impressive Imperial sarcophagi were kept in the Church of the Holy Apostles, as well as the great porphyry sarcophagus of Constantine the Great, of which only a small fragment survives today in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul.

The majestic predator standing on a discoid lid with its wings slightly opened, curved beak and expressive facial detailing, intricate feather detailing on the body and wings. 137 grams total, 63 mm



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.