Roman Lead Cnaeus Pompey Battle of Munda Slingshot

A group of twelve hand-cut and hand-polished globular gaming pieces. 125 grams total, 15-23 mm



Acquired in the 1990s from the Bath Antiques Centre, Somerset, UK. From the private collection of a Somerset gentleman.

Mons Porphyrites (today Jabal Abu Dukhkhan) is the mountainous site of a group of ancient quarries in the Red Sea Hills of the inhospitable eastern desert in Egypt, a five-day trip from the Nile during Roman times. They were discovered by Caius Cominus Leugas in 18 A.D., and during the Roman Empire, the mines officially belonged to the emperor and were the only known source of the Imperial Porphyry, Mons Porphyrites. This dark purple stone was associated with royalty and used for prestigious sculpture and architecture. The location of the mines was lost sometime in the 5th century and rediscovered in the early 19th century. Excavations in the area have revealed the well-preserved quarries and the dwelling places of the quarrymen, and also thousands of ostraca have been discovered containing messages that provide details of how the quarrying took place, and of how the highly skilled quarrymen ordered their food.

Fragments of wall plaster with rendered surface painted with mainly Pompeii red, pale blue, brown and white detailing; some with an impression of timber laths to the reverse. 953 grams total, 8.9-11.7 cm



Acquired in the 19th century. Ex Jeger collection, Switzerland. UK gallery, early 2000s.

These small fragments, for analogies with the fragments of Pompeii, seem to belong to the second style of Roman painting, red panels representing highlight and shadow, decorated with vegetal interlaces. A red grenade fillet probably framed some panels. A fragment shows alternate blue and red colours over a cream background, maybe pertinent to a socle.

With an elongated body, long nozzle with a rounded tip; raised rim to filling hole with hinged lid bearing a mask with sockets to the eyes for silver inserts; handle curved and terminating in a female mask with hair dressed in tiers, eyes recessed to be inlaid with silver; broad nozzle with cup and raised rim; socket to underside for mounting on a stand. 560 grams, 15.5 cm



From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

The lamp is crafted in a very fine style, probably in a classical form from the 1st or 2nd century. It belongs to a type known and widespread in the Mediterranean, with parallels in Paris, Madrid, the museums of Cadiz, Tarragona, and Aquileia.