Roman Terracotta Brick Group

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.

Displaying figures at a banquet (symposium) in relief, reclining on couches and being attended by servants; a centaur on the right; repaired. 358 grams, 30 cm



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

Possibly part of a flanged rectangular vessel, like some specimens found in Cilicia. The presence of a centaur in the scene could evoke the famous mythological fable of the centaurs at the banquet of the Lapiths, when the latter, together with the Athenian hero Theseus, offended by the immoral behaviour of the centaurs who had attempted to kidnap the women, slaughtered them all.

Comprising a flat-section hoop and rectangular panel, short shank and disc-shaped head with cruciform void and pellets in the interstitial quadrants. 3.98 grams, 17.81 mm overall, 15.08 mm internal diameter (approximate size British H 1/2, USA 4, Europe 6.81, Japan 6)



Acquired 1960s-1990s. Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.