Roman Silver-Gilt Brooch with Diana

A mixed group of two hundred and fifty single tesserae of various colours and sizes, mostly cuboid. 340 grams total, 7-14 mm



From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Roman mosaics were made from small cubes of natural stone and terracotta possibly cut from tile or brick. Each of these small cubes was called a tessera (plural tesserae) from the Latin word for dice.

Matched pair, each a hollow-formed crescent with filigree closure, cluster of hollow granules to the underside. 5.06 grams total, 28-29 mm



Acquired in the 1994. 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.

Composed of graduated beads with larger beads as a central feature; restrung. 15.1 grams, 42 cm



From the London, UK, art market in the 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Such necklaces testify to the popularity of glass ornaments across the Roman Empire. Roman jewellery at first followed trends set by the Etruscans, using gold and glass beads, but with the extension of the Empire and the adoption of different styles from Greece, Egypt and North Africa, jewellery designs became increasingly various and elaborate. Each bead of this beautiful necklace is unique in shape, lustre and speckling, creating a mosaic-like impression. Blue glass beads can be grouped into opaque mid-blue and deep translucent cobalt blue types.