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Details
LOT 0833
Roman Red Stone Thumb Pestle
3RD-6TH CENTURY A.D.
4 3/4 in. (312 grams, 12 cm).
Red marble pestle or grinding tool, the handle formed as a thumb with knuckle and nail detailing; old collector's label '2' to underside.
Provenance
Ex private collection, Mrs L.S., 1980s.
Acquired from the above, 1999.
Private European collection.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12096-218201.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Literature
Cf. Beutler, F. et al., Der Adler Roms. Carnuntum und der Armee der Cäsaren, Bad-Deutsch Altenberg, 2017, item 25. for type.
Footnotes
Such items were mainly used by medical staff for grinding ingredients such as medicinal compounds, cosmetics and culinary spices.
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LOT 0833
Roman Red Stone Thumb Pestle
Estimate £1,200 - 1,700€1,390 - 1,970 (for guidance only)$1,620 - 2,300 (for guidance only)
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The god's name was Hellenized in the Ptolemaic era and later adopted by the Romans, but it originated in the figure of 'Horus the child', son of Isis and Osiris, who was worshipped especially in Alexandria.
