Roman Lead Curse Tablet Targeting a Legionary Commander and His Military Unit

Comprising irregular part of a polished porphyry block of rectangular shape, polished on three sides, with a black xenolith in the main face; probably from recarved material mined in ancient Roman times between the 1st and 5th century A.D. 1 kg, 27 cm



From the private collection of a UK gentleman since the early 1980s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

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 some time 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.

Comprising a D-section hoop with expanding shoulders, gilt bezel set with an oval glass gem with engraved insect. 7.45 grams, 23.82 mm overall, 15.81 mm internal diameter (approximate size British E 1/2, USA 2 1/2, Europe 3, Japan 3)



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.

A substantial hollow-form ring with a hexagonal plaque to the base of the hoop, expanding shoulders with a low-relief image of a standing nude goddess; raised oval bezel with an applied repoussé disc of a warship to each end; applied bezel with a chiselled image of god of the sea Neptune facing right, depicted with thick, lustrous beard and hair, the hair tied with a thin ribbon. 7.40 grams, 37.31 mm overall, 22.71 x 27.56 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Z+3, USA 13 3/4, Europe 32.57, Japan 31)



Ex Angelopolo collection, Vienna. Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. 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.12571-232087. 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.

The ring carries a rare combination of the god Neptune (Greek Poseidon) with two warships. This can only mean that it belonged to a navarcha, a commander of a fleet or a warship. In the turbulent era of the civil wars that followed the death of Caesar, important naval conflicts sealed the fate of the Roman Res Publica. Sextus Pompeius, son of the great Pompey, was able to build a naval power in the South of the Italian Peninsula, especially in Sicily, adopting the image of the god Neptune who - with an image very similar to that of our ring - was represented on the coins he minted, together with naval triumphs and warships. The ships depicted on the ring belong to the Liburna type, protagonist of the famous battle of Actium in 31 B.C. They were smaller and faster ships, armed with 82 oars disposed upon two orders, about 33 meters long, with 114 oarsmen, 10-15 sailors, and 40 marines. The hull-design of the Liburna with a pointed, streamlined prow built for speed, as well as the ram (rostrum), is here fully detailed.