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LOT 0652
Roman Silver Gaming Cube with Animals
1ST-4TH CENTURY A.D.
1/4 in. (1.6 grams, 6 mm).
Cuboid 'die' drilled through the centre, each of the four faces with a different animal: a hare, an eagle facing back, a dove, and a dolphin(?), probably used in a game of dice. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceProperty of a Cambridgeshire, UK, collector.
From his private collection since the 1970s; thence by descent circa 2000.
Ex private collection of a Bedfordshire gentleman.
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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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Silver Dish
1st-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £450
Shallow with thickened rim; encrustations to the outer face. 396 grams, 21 cm wide
Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private Swiss collection since 1998. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11631-199032. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Roman Stone Eagle Statue
3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Carved standing on a plinth with its head turned to the right, wings folded. 987 grams, 13 cm high
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Roman Inked Wooden Tablet, a Testament Overseen by Bonatianus with the Head Witness Being Iulius Lovianus
Mid 4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,750
A reused rectangular wax tablet with a shallow recessed panel to one face and thirteen lines of Roman cursive script; the text contains the end of testamentary instructions followed by the obligatory mancipatory formula which includes the ritual purchase of the entire property of the deceased (familia testamenti faciundi erga emit), with the "Libripens" (balance holder) being Bonatianus, and the first of the witnesses was Iulius Lovianus; in the last lines the testator's handwritten signature, after he had dictated his will to a friend; on the outer face two sulci, which were filled with wax into which the signet rings of the witnesses could be impressed, with traces of the signatures of witnesses; four small holes for attachment. 50 grams, 17.7 x 16.6 cm
Acquired by Albert Sfez in the early 1950s. Formerly the property of Monsieur Alain Sfez, a Belgium collector; acquired by gift from his father Albert Sfez, in 1965. Acquired by a London dealer in 1973. From an important London collection since 1975; thence by descent. Accompanied by a copy of a four page illustrated academic report by Professor Dr. phil. Peter Rothenhöfer. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12568-218137. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The contract follows standard Roman legal formulae.
