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LOT 0690
Roman Redware Sherd with Venator Gladiator
4TH CENTURY A.D.
2 3/4 in. (18 grams, 70 mm).
The fighting venator dressed in a long sleeved tunic embroidered with orbiculi and pectorarin, segmenta on the sleeves, brandishing a javelin of venabulum type; suspension loop to the reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1960s-1990s.
From the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.
See the famous mosaic in Villa Borghese, in Gilbert, F., Devenir Gladiateur, la vie quotidienne á l'ecole de la mort, La Capelle-Marival, 2013, p.136, for a similar scene with similar costumes.
FootnotesThe combat scene is likely a reference to the gladiatorial fights between men and animals; such games in the arena were a principal form of entertainment through the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. Both men and women would partake in such fights. The venatores (hunters) were the most specialised in this field, fighting with a spear with winged blades and long knives (culter venatorius).
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AUCTIONS:
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