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LOT 0126
Roman Silver-Gilt Ring with Bust of Goddess
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 in. (12.63 grams, 34.40 mm overall, 21.27 mm internal diameter (approximate size British V, USA 10 1/2, Europe 23.77, Japan 22)).
Composed of a large hoop with raised tongue-shaped plaques at the shoulders, bezel formed as the bust of goddess Selene wearing a crescentic crown; trace remains of gilding.
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market around 2000s.
From the collection of an EU gentleman living in the UK.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Green Glass Cup with Trail
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Tapered green bowl with dimpled base and slightly inverted rim; spiral trail to the upper body, formed as pinched arches below; heavily restored. 52 grams, 94 mm wide
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016. -
Roman Green Glass Bottle
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Squat bodied with a slender tubular neck and everted rim; iridescent surfaces. 13.34 grams, 54 mm high
Acquired 1960s-1990s. From the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister. -
Roman Chalcedony Gemstone with Aphrodite Kallipygos
1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
The goddess seen from behind, drapery around her legs, resting her left hand on a column and holding up an object in her right hand. 0.84 grams, 12 mm
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Important North West London collection.
The famous statue of Aphrodite Kallipygos, the model for this gemstone, recalls a story reported in the Deipnosophists of Athenaeus regarding the foundation of a temple to her in ancient Syracuse. According to Athenaeus, two beautiful sisters from a farm near Syracuse quarrelled over which of them had the most shapely buttocks, and approached a young passer-by to judge. They showed themselves to the traveller, the son of a rich man, and he voted for the older sister. Later, he fell in love with her and fell ill with lovesickness. Upon learning of what had happened, the man's younger brother went to see the girls and fell in love with the younger sister. Consequently the brothers refused to consider any other brides forcing the father to arrange for the sisters to come and marry them. The townspeople nicknamed the sisters ‘Kallipygoi’ (‘Women with Beautiful Behinds’) and the young men, with their newfound prosperity, dedicated a temple to Aphrodite, naming her ‘Kallipygos’.
