Roman Stone Head

Gold cell with flange rim and three lateral loops; inset intaglio of a cloaked goddess (Venus) with a distaff and diadem, caressing a hare. 5.68 grams, 22 mm



From the collection of a deceased Lady collector, 1970s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12957-243670.

Symbol of fertility and of good luck, the hare became a popular motif in the pre-Roman Era on the coins of Messina, Etruscan art and coins and Calenian pottery. The hare was a sacred animal to Venus (Aphrodite), often depicted in her worship and associated with love and fertility.

Depicting a nude blacksmith seated on a stool before a forge, hammer in his right hand, holding an object he is hammering with the other hand. 0.25 grams, 10 mm



Private collection, North Germany. with Gorny & Mosch, 14 December 2005, no.238. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00075379.

Probably a Roman copy of a Hellenistic subject. Some Roman ring intaglios were dedicated to Vulcan (Greek Hephaestus), god of the blacksmiths, artisans, and carpenters. Usually, the god is represented standing or working in his forge, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a one-shouldered tunic, identifying him as a craftsman. In his right hand, he holds a hammer over an anvil, and in his left a pair of long metalworking tongs. Sometimes he is naked, seated and working.

An openwork plate brooch with two lobed discs connected by a pair of crescents, traces of red enamel; remains of catchplate and pin-lugs on the reverse. 10.3 grams, 47 mm



Found East Anglia, UK. From a Kent collection formed in the 1990s.