Roman Tabular Lead Weight Collection

Worked in high-relief with hairstyle typical of the transitional period from the Consulate to the Empire; oval face with a prominent forehead, oval eyelids and clearly defined lines around the eyes; hair arranged in vertical lines combed back from the forehead; pronounced lips, typical rendering of the wide auricles; the lower part of the tunic visible with a well defined round edge around the neck; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 5.94 kg total, 22.5 cm high including stand



Acquired from Gallery Gryphos, Munich, 1992. European private collection. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11996-211878.

The head was probably pertinent to a series of funerary family portraits. It has realistic modelling of male features, which speaks of a portrait in reduced dimensions or a reference to a well-known person in the environment where it was exhibited. The portrait is worked only on the front, leaving the back, as well as the lower part of the sculpture, roughly treated.

With ellipsoid bezel, pointillé border enclosing Greek text 'ΔΙΟΓ/ΕΝΩ' '[property] of Diogenes'. 7.21 grams, 25.66 mm overall, 20.51 mm internal diameter (approximate size British S 1/2, USA 9 1/4, Europe 20.63, Japan 19)



Private collection, England.

Including ellipsoid-bezel and other types. 30 grams total, 23-25 mm



UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman.