Roman Miniature Glass Flask

A sardonyx cabochon gemstone with intaglio portrait bust of a male wearing a diadem, possibly Apollo; set in a later gold ring. 12.89 grams, 30.12 mm overall, 22.07 mm internal diameter (approximate size British X, USA 11 1/2, Europe 26.29, Japan 25)



Ex Dr. A.R., Leipzig, 1980-1980s. with Gorny and Mosch, 13 December 2017, lot 424. English private collection.

A carved marble head with large lentoid eyes and wavy hair; mounted on a custom-made stand. 8.9 kg total, 37 cm high including stand



French collection, 1960s-early 2000s. From an important Paris gallery, France.

A series of portrait heads, busts and marble statues from the 5th-6th century A.D. Ephesus, show great affinity with this sculpture. This typology of portraits shows how the late Roman art progressed in the search for a characterisation. The hair is deeply worked with a drill creating a chiaroscuro and immobile mass, the face is treated with large expressive folds, making this head a magnificent expression of late Imperial Roman art.

A bronze discoid plate brooch with openwork monogram of 'ROMA', hinged pin and catchplate to the reverse. 10.2 grams, 31 mm



Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.

The brooch is engraved with the stylised letters ‘RMA’. When viewed from the obverse, RMA and the framing circle form a monogram for ‘Roma’. Roma refers to both the city and its divine personification, the Dea Roma. If RMA is read from right to left (or the brooch is viewed from the opposite side), the letters form a monogram for ‘AMOR’, the Latin name for Cupid, the god of love. The phrase pertains to Roma-Amor, a widely recognised palindrome espousing Roman wordplay in the ancient times.