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LOT 0865
Roman Silver Cochlearium Spoon
2ND-4TH CENTURY A.D.
6 7/8 in. (19.7 grams, 17.5 cm).
With 'swan-neck' junction; facetted, round-section tapering shank; shallow bowl shaped like a flask in profile.
ProvenanceProperty of a Bedfordshire, UK, private collector.
Accompanied by an illustrated collector's identification tag.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Cf. Riha, E., & Stern, W.B., Die Römischen Löffel aus Augst und Kaiseraugst, Forschungen, in Augst 5, 1982, for discussion; cf. Jackson, C.J., The Spoon and its History, in Archaeologia, vol.53.
FootnotesThe spoon's shaft tapers to a point; it was used for extracting seafood or snails from their shells. Spoons executed in precious metals were highly valued items in this period in history, so much so that historians and classicists see them recorded in inventories compiled for noble households. Cochlearia like this one have even been discovered in treasure hoards. The absence of Christian symbolism or of a Christian inscription on this spoon might suggest that it dates from a pre-Christian era, or that its owner/commissioner was pagan.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Lead Coffin and Painted Fresco Fragments
3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Wall-plaster fragment with remains of laths to the reverse, dressed surface with painted red and white detailing; with a fragment of a lead coffin believed to have contained the remains of a Roman girl about 17-21 years of age; with old collector's ticket. 218 grams total, 9-98 mm
The coffin fragment found at Brough, Nottinghamshire, UK, 1970s-1980s. Acquired from Ancient & Oriental, UK, in the 1990s. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. -
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Roman Bronze Military Compass and Tweezers Multi-Tool
Circa late 2nd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Featuring a compass and tweezers, free-moving collar to one arm, one arm with two oval terminals and one tapering to a point. 19 grams, 90 mm
Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This instrument, a type of circinus formed of two flat-section arms, was widely used by masons and carpenters, as well as for making wall decorations for the preparation of repetitive elements such as spirals or circles. It was widely used by the agrimensores of the army, as is proven by a very similar specimen found in Carnuntum, the camp of the Legio XIIII Gemina. -
Roman Bronze Bow Brooch Collection
1st century-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Including P-Shaped, Kraftig Profilierte and other types. 86 grams total, 45-65 mm
From an English collection formed before 2000. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
