Roman Stone Mosaic Fragments and Tesserae

Featuring an elaborate monogram composed of Greek letters M, A, T and P on three supporting prongs; tapering cylindrical socket. 343 grams, 29.5 cm high



Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.

Branding stamps or signacula, in particular those with large single letters, were used for marking livestock to identify the owner, the breed, the quality and other features of the animal. These signacula were usually made in bronze, but iron examples are also preserved.

Displaying the face of a bearded god, possibly Cernunnos or Pan, with curly hair and two horns in the shape of phallus; suspension ring to the top. 25.6 grams, 45 mm



Acquired in the 1990s. Ex property of a UK gentleman.

The head displays typical features associated with Romano-Celtic art, such as the lentoid eyes and the schematic rendering of the hair and beard. The head could be that of Pan, god of the wild countryside and of fertility in nature, thus making the phalli-shaped horns appropriate. It could also represent the Celtic god Cernunnos, a Gallic deity whose worship is known from Britain and the Continent from a number of monuments, inscriptions and figurines, as well as on the famous Gundestrup cauldron found in a bog in Denmark. His name means "the Horned One", and is depicted as a bearded male wearing a torc around his neck and with large horns or antlers on his head. Representations of him are known from as early as the fourth century B.C. from the Paspardo rock carving at Val Camonica, Northern Italy. Other representations include the monument set up by Parisian sailors which was discovered underneath Notre Dame cathedral, and the relief carving from Cirencester where his legs are in the form of two snakes. The Celts' preoccupation with fecundity caused them on occasions to represent their male gods with oversized phalli, and a bronze figure of Mercury from Tongres, France, depicts the god with two phalli on his head.

Comprising: brooch of Elbefibel type with notched bow and lozenge-shaped footplate with chased lozenges within; spring, pin and catchplate intact to reverse; P-shaped bow brooch with coiled spring and footplate curving backwards to form the catchplate, one corner tapering to a slender bar coiled around the base of the bow. 12.5 grams total, 38-46 mm



From the collection of an EU gentleman formed in the 1990s. Acquired on the UK art market.