Roman Marble Finger

Part of a wax tablet with two holes in the frame for fastening, Greek writing. 45.45 grams, 18.6 x 7.2 cm



Property of a North London gentleman; previously in the Dean family collection since 1975.

Wax tablets written in Greek or Latin, were used by Romans as account registers (codices accepti et expensi); for transactions (for example, the tablets of the banker Lucius Caecilius Iucundus found in Pompeii); for lists of goods, inventories, and notes to be kept and archived; for Roman magistrates to annotate the salient events of their bureaucratical activities; for writing letters; for drawing up legal texts of various kinds: legacies, declarations of births and citizenship, reports of trials and diplomata militaria.

Squat in profile with broad shoulder and recessed discus with central filler hole; elongated nozzle, carinated sidewall. lug handle with tapering hole. 49 grams, 96 mm



From the private collection of a Canadian gentleman living in Essex, UK, formed since the 1920s-circa 1990. Property of an Essex lady until the the late 1990s; thence by descent. From the private collection of an Essex gentleman since the late 1990s.

Including warrior with spear over his shoulder, profile bust of Silenus with partial Greek legend, Isis Minerva with cornucopia and supplicant and other types; each supplied with a museum-quality impression. 14.59 grams total, 9-20 mm



From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.