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LOT 0727
Roman Phallic Pendant
2ND-4TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/8 in. (8.28 grams, 30 mm).
A bronze phallic pendant with stylised anatomical detailing and integral suspension loop. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired before 2000.
From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Herm of the God Hermes
Circa 1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
A bronze herm lock element representing the god Hermes, with a stylised and beardless face, long hair descending with two parallel lines on the chest with engraved stylised caduceus, finial with a plinth and a squared pin to the reverse. 110 grams, 16 cm
Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
This miniature herm, with a stylised caduceus engraved on the breast, possibly represents the god Hermes. It could have been used as a lock for a casket or a box where money was kept. Hermes was the protector of homes, symbolised by the Herma (from Hermes), a square or rectangular pillar of stone or bronze topped by a bust of the god. -
Roman Decorated Bracelet
Circa 1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
A copper-alloy bracelet formed as a penannular hoop with rounded terminals, the exterior face divided into rectangular segments, each decorated with one of various repeating decorative schemes: five recessed dots with pricked dotted borders; dotted arcs and lines; horizontal cluster of three recessed dots with dotted chevrons above and below; slender vertical panels with central dotted columns. 24.5 grams, 65 mm
Acquired since the 1970s. Ex property of an Austrian private collector. -
Roman Satyr Traveller Gemstone in Gold Ring
1st-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,940
A garnet cabochon with intaglio satyr traveller advancing with staff and pouch over his shoulder, set into a later gold finger ring. 8.22 grams, 27.20 mm overall, 22.95 mm internal diameter (approximate size British O, USA 7, Europe 14.98, Japan 14)
Acquired 1960s-1990s. Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11619-199018.
The subject was popular on Roman gems: Silenus and the satyrs, grotesque hedonists, unrestrained in their desire for sex and wine, and yet immortal companions of Dionysus, were considered ‘cruder than men and yet somehow wiser, combining mischief with wisdom, lewdness with skill in music, animalism with divinity'. The counterpoint of the divine and the atavistic appealed to the Roman sense of moral superiority.
