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LOT 0746
Roman Mosaic Stone Tesserae Group
1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
3/8 - 5/8 in. (336 grams total, 9-14 mm).
A mixed group of two hundred and fifty single tesserae of various colours and sizes, mostly cuboid. [250, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
For similar tesserae see Gabucci, A., Pejrani Baricco, L., Ratto, S., Per il Museo di Ivrea, La sezione archeologica del Museo Civico P.A. Garda, Sesto Fiorentino, 2014, cover, mosaic from a Domus of Eporedia.
FootnotesRoman mosaics were made from small cubes of natural stone and terracotta possibly cut from tile or brick. Each of these small cubes was called a tessera (several tesserae) from the Latin word for dice.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman and Later Artefact Group
1st-20th century AD.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Including coins, a crotal bell, buckles, a lead weight, swivel mount, a Roman redware fragment with a partial maker's mark, and others. 627 grams total, 1.1-40.5 cm
From an English collection formed before 2000. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. -
Late Roman Votive Lead Mirror Inscribed 'For the woman who loves her husband'
3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Comprising a discoid plate with running scroll border, lentoid-section handle with raised teardrop decoration; applied central reflective disc with Greek inscription to the reverse: 'τῆς φιλάνδρου πάντα' translating to 'For the woman who loves her husband'; with original reflective glass in situ. 35 grams, 10.3 cm
Acquired from Brigantia, York, UK, circa 2010. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Many examples of this category from the Danube region were found in female graves, where they perhaps served as grave goods considered appropriate for their connection with general issues of fertility, good fortune, and beauty, or even as protective amulets. The inscriptions found on votive lead mirrors in Pannonia, published by Németh & Szabó, show female characteristics, and the beautiful female soul as an addressee. Since lead mirror frames have been found in this Roman province only in graves of women, it is probable that these miniature mirrors, filled with glass in their central hole, were expected to serve as ritual or magical tools to assist the souls of dead women in the afterlife. -
Roman Glass Jug with Trails
4th-5th century A.D.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £360
A small pale yellow collared globular jug with short neck, angular ribbon handle with two narrow prominent ribs, folded upper attachment to the cylindrical neck, several horizontal lines on the globular body, trefoil mouth. 32 grams, 74 mm
with H.A.C., Basel, prior 1999. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
These globular jugs were typical of the Eastern Mediterranean in the Late Roman period. Ornamental threads were decorating the body, and the employment of these jugs was often similar to those of pilgrim flasks, destined to collect oil and water from early Christian sanctuaries.
