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LOT 0684
Roman Silver Pin with a Figure of a Standing Woman
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
4 in. (16 grams, 98 mm).
Comprising a tapering body with a Corinthian capital finial, a standing female figure atop the capital, dressed in long robes.
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1980s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Cf. Cool, H.E.M., ‘Roman Metal Hair Pins from Southern Britain’ in Archaeological Journal, 147 (1990) 148-182, fig.10, no.6, for a very similar specimen.
FootnotesThe pin seems to belong to the group 18 of the Cool's classification. The treatment of the figures in these pins varies greatly, including both the very 'Celtic' looking face on a pin from Cirencester and a Graeco-Roman figure type of Venus standing on a Corinthian capital from London. This great diversity of treatments clearly suggests that these pins were the occasional products of a wide variety of workshops.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0684
Roman Silver Pin with a Figure of a Standing Woman
Estimate £400 - 600€460 - 700 (for guidance only)$540 - 810 (for guidance only)
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Orangey-red intaglio with a concave front and flat back, depicting the three-quarter bust of Serapis; displaying a tightly curled beard, shoulder-length wavy hair with a central parting brushed up from the forehead, wearing the characteristic calathus (woven basket or corn-measure) headgear, symbolising fertility; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.47 grams, 14 mm
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