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LOT 0088
Roman Sardonyx Cameo of a Leaping Stag
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
3/8 in. (0.43 grams, 11 mm).
With a cameo image of a male antelope jumping right; supplied with a museum-quality impression.
ProvenancePrivate English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s.
Private collection, London, UK.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0088
Roman Sardonyx Cameo of a Leaping Stag
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
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Roman Bronze Artefact Group
1st-4th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Comprising: a lion-headed nude male figure in running position; two hand pendants making the fica gesture; a wolf-head(?) shaped mount. 38.7 grams total, 25-45 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Roman Children’s Gold and Gemstone Ring Group
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Comprising three rings, the largest ring set with a garnet intaglio with a standing male figure (Odysseus shooting with his bow); the slightly smaller ring set with an emerald; the smallest ring set with a garnet intaglio of an amphora; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 3.82 grams total, 9-13 mm
Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12956-245984. -
Roman Bronze Phallic Dagger Quillon or Pendant
1st-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £40
With a rectangular plaque with central void, phallus to one short edge and a stylised fist to the other. 25.5 grams, 55 mm
Acquired 1980-2015. 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.
In the Roman world the phallus was symbol of luck or fertility, and it as well was believed to have apotropaic functions. Pendants, amulets and small objects were worn by all sorts of people as symbols of protection, especially from young children according to Varro and Pliny the Elder. The phallus is commonly found on reliefs, frescoes and lamps from the Graeco-Roman world. This object can have been the quillon of a small dagger, but also hung as a charm from a tintinnabulum, a wind chime adorned with bells and intended to ward off evil.