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LOT 0113
Roman Lead Coffin Panel with Sphinx, Medusa and Dolphins
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D
31 1/2 in. (13.65 kg, 80 cm).
Decorated with a high-relief pattern comprising sphinxes surrounded by dolphins and masks of Medusa surrounded by laurel leaves all between Corinthian columns; ropework and floral border strips with laurel leaves above and lip below the upper edge.
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-early 1990s.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
See Payne, G., Roman Leaden Coffin discovered at Plumstead in Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol.17, 1887, fig.10, for the presence of lead sarcophagi in Roman Britain; for a similar specimen in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no.31.116a-i; Penn Museum, coffin panel B10280, from Lebanon (Tyre).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0113
Roman Lead Coffin Panel with Sphinx, Medusa and Dolphins
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
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Roman Oil Lamp with Leda and The Swan
2nd century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
A Roman North African terracotta oil lamp with grooved ring handle; discus decorated with the mythological scene depicting Leda and the swan embracing. 77 grams, 10.3 cm
Dr Suzanne Gozlan, thence by descent. Suzanne Gozlan (1921-2022), a doctor of History and Archaeology, served as a professor at the Ecole Normale d'Instituteurs de Chartres and lectured at the University of Paris 4 Sorbonne. Property of a Bristol, UK, gentleman.
In Greek mythology, Leda was the wife of King Tyndareus and queen of Sparta. According to the myth, Zeus, the king of the gods, was captivated by Leda's beauty and appeared before her in the form of a swan. He then either raped or seduced her and impregnated her. The same night, Leda slept with her husband who also impregnated her, as a result of these two unions she laid two eggs, each containing one set of twins. According to later Greek mythology Leda bore Helen (of Troy) and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband. -
Roman Silver Lunar Pendant
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
With wide lozenge-section arms and a ribbed suspension loop. 2.31 grams, 36 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Roman Bronze Epigraphic Codex Ansatus Model
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £351
Rectangular with two supporting bars to the underside, extended loop above; enigmatic (Greek) letters to all faces. 63.7 grams, 33 mm
with Hotel des Ventes, Drouot, Paris, France. From the collection of Mr H. Naudy, Paris, France. Acquired at between 2004-2010. Property of a French collector.
This small counter-weight bears letters indicating numbers: on one of the short sides Α (1), Δ (4), Χ (600); on the other short side they worn and difficult to read; and on one of the longer sides Υ (400), φ (500). The other letters are challenging to read, but the object would have been used as unit of measure. Another possibility is that it belonged to a statuette of a man holding a codex ansatus (box with a handle for carrying writing tablets).
