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LOT 1422
Roman 'Pompey the Great' Lead Slingshot
1ST CENTURY B.C.
1 5/8 in. (59.6 grams, 40 mm).
Biconical lead slingshot (glans) with inscription in Latin letters 'CN' (Cneius) 'MAG' (Magnus) on one side, and 'IMP' for 'IMPERATOR' (victorious general) to the other side, i.e Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus Imperator (Pompey the Great the victorious general).
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 4th May 2022 and titled 'Roman Res Publica - Lead Slingshots (glandes) of Caesarian Age - 45 B.C circa'.
Cf. D'Amato, R. and Sumner, G., Arms and Armour of the Imperial Roman Soldier: From Marius to Commodus, 112 BC-AD 192, London, 2009, fig.32, p.45, for a similar glandes from Zaragoza Museum, the one with the name of Pompey inscribed coming from Munda battlefield.
FootnotesThe shot (Völling type 1C) is marked with the abbreviated name of Gnaeus Pompey; it was used in quantity at the Battle of Monda (or Munda) against Julius Caesar, 17th March 45 BC. The projectiles were made of different materials: lead (glandes) or in pottery or stone (lapides missiles). Sometimes they were signed with the name of the general, like our specimen.
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AUCTIONS:
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Comprising: breech and shoe, hat, belt ands stock/nap bronze buckles; clasps for pouches; a clay pipe; spare flint holders; a flint for musket; a flint for pistol; a bronze spur; military buttons for Royal Marine, Artillery, Coldstream and Dragoon Guards from 1795 to 1820; an officer’s whistle; a bayonet holder. 1.36 kg total, case: 30.5 x 22 x 6.5 cm
From the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968.
Various military items have been recovered from the military sites of the Napoleonic Wars. Buttons are the most common items, made of copper, with some signs of gilding and silvering. Also small buckles are frequent finds, as well as musket balls and musket parts. These latter are rare because the individual soldiers were responsible for the care and maintenance of their fire-arms.
