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LOT 0918
Roman Mosaic and Other Glass Necklace Bead Group
CIRCA 1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
1/4 - 1/2 in. (49 grams total, 7-13 mm).
Comprising thirty glass beads of various sizes, including mosaic beads and some with drawn decoration. [30]
ProvenanceUK gallery, early 2000s.
LiteratureCf. Eisen, G., ‘The Characteristics of eye beads from the Earliest Times to Present’ in American Journal of Archaeology, Second Series, Vol.XX (1916), pp.1-27, pl.1 and figs.58-62, for similar
FootnotesThe mass production of glass in Ancient Rome prompted the development of glass jewellery of unique qualities. The ancient Romans considered jewellery to be an essential accessory, being a public display of the wealth of high social classes. Recent excavations have provided better information on the use of glass beads for necklaces and bracelets, and in some case has been possible to understand the exact arrangement of a necklace or other jewellery made of glass. Many of the examples here presented belongs to the so-called category of ‘eye-beads’.
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Decorated with a high-relief pattern comprising a sphinx reclining on a dais surrounded by laurel leaves; ropework and floral border strips with laurel leaves; raised lip below the upper edge. 3.3 kg, 38 cm
Acquired 1970s-early 1990s. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
This item belongs to types widespread in the Eastern Mediterranean. The panel is decorated with a columned structure, and within each section were symbols of the outer-world, like gorgons, sphinx and dolphins. The sphinx, having a human head and breasts, legs and paws of a lion, and wings of a bird, was generally associated with protecting imperial tombs and temples. -
Roman Bronze Artefact Group
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Property of a Gloucestershire, UK, collector. Property of an East Sussex, UK, gentleman. -
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