Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 254567
Roman Red Variated Gemstone with Elephant
3RD CENTURY A.D.
5/8 in. (3.04 grams, 17 mm).
Scaraboid type with incuse design to the underside of an elephant with stars above; supplied with a museum-quality impression. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
Literature
Cf. coin of Caesar showing a similar elephant in Gołyźniak, P., Engraved Gems and Propaganda in the Roman Republic and under Augustus, Oxford, 2020, fig.283.
Footnotes
The Romans first encountered elephants in Pyrrhos' army, and the representation of elephants in Roman Art begins from this period. Victorious Emperors like Caesar and Vespasian celebrated elephants on their coins. Apart from the celebration of elephants as ‘war machines’, the image of elephants was linked to other aspects in the Roman Imperial Period. Before becoming emperor, Elagabalus was one of the priests of Helios-Sun worship in Emesa. He had elephant depictions on his coins during his reign. The elephants raise their heads to the sun when the sun rises. Thus, sun is represented on the gemstone together with the elephant.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 254567
Roman Red Variated Gemstone with Elephant
Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5 (EUR 6; USD 7) +BP*
RELATED LOTS
-
.jpg)
Roman Vessel with Actor's Mask Handle
Early 3rd century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
A squat jar in lead-rich copper-alloy with concentric rings to the base, bulbous body, trefoil mouth with egg-and-dart detailing, strap handle with vine-leaf detailing, actor's mask at the lower end and a lion's head with open mouth at the other. 695 grams, 13.2 cm
Acquired on the Swiss art market, 2001. Private European 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.12586-232162.
This vessel (spouted jugs with trefoil mouth) was part of Roman and provincial bronze instrumentum domesticum, i.e. culinary or domestic utility ware. The typology was assigned by H.U. Nuber to the E type (Millingen type), pieces characterised by a trefoil, highly splayed rim, a short neck and usually a spherical body. -
.jpg)
Roman Bronze Bowl Mount with Face
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £50 - 70 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Discoid in plan and domed in profile with facing mask of Medusa and strap above with lateral ribs. 9.8 grams, 30 mm
Found Norfolk, UK. -
Roman Glass Vase
4th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Squat in profile with sloped shoulder, everted flange rim. 13.7 grams, 50 mm
Acquired in the late 1980s. Private collection, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.
