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Details
LOT 0858
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.
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