Roman Silver Bow Brooch

A bone doll depicting a female figure with elaborately tied hairstyle, semi-naturalistic facial and anatomical detailing and geometric detailing to the garment wrapped around her lower body; stub arms; copper-alloy rivets to the shoulders. 77 grams, 19 cm high



with a London, UK gallery 1971-early 2000s.

A bronze figure or gaming piece of a nude female in crouching pose with hands placed on the hips, possibly giving birth; the hair shown drawn up in a bun, segmented armband to each upper arm. 30.4 grams, 28 mm high



Private Swiss collection, acquired 2002.

The dice features six attitudes on which it could land when rolled, one of which includes the figure's head. The earliest concrete historical evidence of games played with dice originated from ancient Egypt, circa 3000 B.C., although it is generally believed by historians that dice pre-dated the ancient Egyptian civilisation. The Romans played two games using dice: Tali and Tesserae. The former originated in Greece and features four animal bones. The aim was to roll in such a way that each die displayed a different number-the higher the combined number, the greater the score. The latter was played using three dice, the goal being to roll triple six, or to achieve the highest combined numbers out of the contestants; it was a game of chance and the most common street and tavern gambling game in ancient Rome. ‘Dogs’ referred to poor scores and ‘Venus’ to high ones. Roman players rolled dice from a special cup called a fritillium onto wood, bronze, or marble boards, depending on their class and wealth. Roman elites boasted ornate boards inscribed with their names. The gambling which ensued from dice games caused extreme social issues in Roman society, leading the government to eventually outlaw dice games, although these laws were largely ignored.

A group of five white marble human limb fragments with simple anatomical detailing: a left hand holding an enigmatic object; a left arm and hand with the remains of the fingers held open; a right leg with ankle and remains of the foot; a right arm and hand modelled held palm-downwards; a right hand modelled with fingers extended, remains of iron rod. 975 grams total, 9.8-12 cm



New York art market, 1992.