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_900x900.jpg "Roman Leda and the Swan Carnelian Gemstone")
_200x200.jpg "Roman Leda and the Swan Carnelian Gemstone")
.jpg "Roman Leda and the Swan Carnelian Gemstone")
LOT 0076
Roman Leda and the Swan Carnelian Gemstone
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
7/8 in. (4.37 grams, 23.66 mm).
An oval intaglio with an engraved image of Leda on a low couch copulating with Zeus in swan-form, set in a fragmentary silver ring.
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Blue and Crimson Glass Bead Necklace String
1st-4th century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £46
Restrung group of tubular and other types with interstitial melon and other beads; the small, irregular opaque red glass beads 'Indo-pacific'. 20.6 grams, 62 cm
London, UK, collection, 2000s. -
Large Eastern Roman Green Glass Bottle with Iridescence
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,250
Piriform in profile with a narrow neck and flared mouth with a chamfered rim, dimple base. 945 grams, 29.5 cm high
From the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès private collection. with Artcurial, Paris, 25 March 2014, no.39. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12959-245241.
On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence and desirability of the piece. -
Roman Gemstone with Female Portrait
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Ellipsoid in plan with intaglio profile female bust. 0.41 grams, 9 mm
From the collection of a London, UK, gentleman, 1970s onwards. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Based on similarities with coins and sculptures, the gemstone could date to the Late Hellenistic or Early Roman period. These similarities can be seen in the strongly marked lines of the dress, the pronounced shape of the mouth, and the squareness of the nose.
