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LOT 0697
Roman 'Midlands' Bronze Decorated Crossbow Brooch
4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.
3 5/8 in. (78.6 grams, 92 mm).
With onion-knop terminals, carinated bow with linear decoration and a separate collar to the base of the bow; wide footplate with pellet decoration; catch-plate and repaired pin to the reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound UK.
Acquired from Stonegate Antiques, York, 2008.
Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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British Roman Bronze Votive Beneficiarius Sceptre
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
The upper part of a Beneficiarius dedicatory spear or sceptre, comprising a circular-section shaft with an ivy leaf finial, a crescent (lunula) below and the point with triple acorn-shaped spheres; the lower end of the shaft square-section and with a rosette for attaching it to the wooden part, engraved with X-motifs and circumferential lines. 62 grams, 49 cm
Found Cambridgeshire, UK. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
The beneficiarii, within the Roman army, were soldiers exempted from menial duties and acting as orderlies of senior officers; they were also charged with particular duties by governors and generals. Their distinctive insignia were decorated spears, often with a point shaped like an ivy leaf. The military stela from Perinth depicting a 3rd century beneficiarius shows a very similar spear, mounted over a particular structure on the midshaft of the spear. -
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Roman Glass Intaglio Showing Two Gryphons Attacking a Deer
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
Ellipsoid glass cloison with incuse image of two gryphons attacking a deer; set in a later silver ring. 18.57 grams, 30.95 mm overall, 22.99 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N 1/2, USA 6 3/4, Europe 14.35, Japan 13)
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
The subject of griffins attacking a deer has a long history and remained popular during the Hellenistic and Roman period throughout the Mediterranean area and beyond. It may be a symbol of the inevitability of death. -
Roman FORTIS Terracotta Oil Lamp
Late 1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
A factory lamp with flat-topped oval body, broad flat shoulder and small concave plain discus; flat bottom with Latin inscription 'FORTIS'. 77.7 grams, 96 mm
From the collection of a High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK, gentleman, circa 2000.
At the end of the 1st century B.C., in the Po Valley, began the industrial production of Firmalampen, i.e. lamps signed on the bottom in relief noting the place of production or fabrica. The signature FORTIS, visible on this specimen, is one of the most documented and is attributable to the workshop of L. Aemilius Fortis, recently discovered to have been in Mutina (Modena).
