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LOT 0091
Roman Sard Gemstone of a Panther
1ST CENTURY A.D.
3/8 in. (0.32 grams, 11 mm).
With intaglio profile image of a large cat prone to the left; supplied with a museum-quality impression.
ProvenancePrivate English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s.
Private collection, London, UK.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12951-246458.
Cf. Sagiv, I., Representations of Animals on Greek and Roman Engraved Gems, Oxford, 2018, fig.30, a panther with a thyrsus on nicolo gemstone, for a similar but not identical panther.
FootnotesThis depiction clearly belongs to a series of renderings of felines as the mounts, draught animals, and companions of Dionysus/Bacchus, and of the personages connected with him. Lions, panthers and leopards are among the attributes of the god Bacchus and a part of his thiasos (retinue).
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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From a collection of gaming items, formed 1980-1990s. -
Late Roman Lead Tessera with Menorah and Inscription
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Late Roman Hinged Lidded Pyxis
4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Sheet-bronze two-part pyxis with carinated sidewall to the base, lid with reserved octofoil on a pounced field, concentric pointillé rings; working hinge mechanism. 64 grams, 86 mm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Although pyxides were originally made of wood, as their name suggests, the term soon came to refer, in the Graeco-Roman world, to round containers used for both medicinal and domestic purposes. From the time of the Achaeans to the end of the Roman Empire, we find pyxides made of horn, ivory, bronze, silver, and gold. Women used them to store their ointments, makeup, and toiletries. A pyxis used for medical purposes was called a loculus, while the name pyxidicula designated a container for eye drops, and a tripuxium was a pyxis containing extracts from three different containers.
