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LOT 0170
Roman Openwork Silver Military Baldric Phalera
3RD CENTURY A.D.
3 3/8 in. (40 grams, 86 mm).
With concentric lines of openwork ornament in lanceolate shapes, ending with crescent decorations.
ProvenanceAcquired from Gallery Gryphos, Munich, 1997.
European private collection.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11998-211928.
Cf. Bishop, M.C. & Coulston, J.N.C., Roman Military Equipment from the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome, Oxford, 2006, pls.3b and 7a, for similar.
FootnotesIn the 3rd century A.D. Roman army, the old ring suspension system of the sword, of Celtic and Iberian origin, was abandoned. The sword was now mainly carried suspended from a broad baldric on the soldier’s left side. The high quality of the openwork decoration of our phalera and the precious silver of which it is made imply that it may have once belonged to a commissioned officer.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Roman Lead Coffin Fragment with Sphinx, Medusa and Dolphins
2nd-3rd century A.DSold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
Decorated with a high-relief pattern comprising sphinxes surrounded by dolphins and masks of Medusa surrounded by laurel leaves all between Corinthian columns; ropework and floral border strips with laurel leaves above; lip below the upper edge. 20.1 kg, 101.5 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 are symbols of the outer-world, including 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. The roundels featuring the head of Medusa, known for her potent gazes that could turn one to stone, was favoured on sarcophagi and architectural ornaments because it was believed that her image would protect those within. The dolphin was considered to ferry the souls of the dead to the afterlife. -
Roman Bronze Brooch Group
1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Including P-shaped, T-shaped, La Tène III, and other types. 39 grams total, 2.9-11.1 cm
Ex property of an Essex gentleman. Property of a Scottish collector, acquired in 2013. -
Roman Coral Set Gold Pendant
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Conical sheet-gold cap with inset coral rod. 0.61 grams, 22 mm
From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s.
