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LOT 0146
Roman Limestone Capital
CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
11 in. (16.8 kg, 28 cm wide).
Square in plan with four tiered acanthus-leaves with deep undercuts; cylindrical column.
ProvenanceEx Paris collection.
French gallery, Paris, 1990-2000s.
Cf. for fragments of similar capitals Michalowski, K., Palmyre, Fouilles Polonaises 1959, Warszawa, 1960, pl.143, p.133.
FootnotesThe capital seems near the types used in the Roman East, in particular the Alexandrian capital of type I or II, or maybe belonging to a transitional style driving to the semplificate type of the so called blocked-out capitals (a particular type of architectural decoration characterised by a simplified form).
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Roman Bronze Phallic Seal Box
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Piriform two-part container with three holes to the underside, hinge to the broad end, obverse with ropework border and stylised phallus in high-relief. 9.97 grams, 38 mm
Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent. -
Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp with Erotic Scene
Circa 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
Squat burnished pottery lamp with stub nozzle, high-relief scene of two lovers on a couch; maker's mark 'LMVNSVC' to the underside. 64 grams, 95 mm
From the collection of French archaeologist Suzanne Gozlan (1921-2022).
The lamp belongs to the Bailey type B group ii (Loeschke type IV), usually dated from Tiberian to Trajanic times. Erotic lamps were particularly popular before the Christianisation of the Roman Empire. Roman sexuality differed considerably from later Christian European attitudes. Roman religion promoted sexuality as one of the fundamental aspects of prosperity for the entire state; individuals could turn to private religious practice, or even magic, to improve their erotic life or health and reproductive capacity; moreover, prostitution in ancient Rome was legal, public and widespread. Artistic subjects that today we would define without hesitation as pornography, were present among the art collections of the most respectable and high status Roman families. -
Roman Iridescent Glass Perfume Vessel
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Tall tubular flask with flat shoulder and rim, dimple to the base; iridescent surface. 28 grams, 97 mm
From an old Suffolk, UK, collection, 1990s. Property of an Essex gentleman.
