LOT 0909

Roman Terracotta Bullae, Tesserae or Token Group

3RD CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.

1/2 - 7/8in. (32.7 grams total, 13-22 mm).

A mixed group of ceramic bullae, tesserae or theatre tokens bearing low-relief motifs, mainly consisting of profile busts of deities. [20, No Reserve]

From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.

Cf. for similar bullae Rowan, C., Tokens and Social Life in Roman Imperial Italy, Cambridge, 2023, figs.1.1, 1.5, 1.7, 1.10, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.18, 3.4, 3.12-13, 3.18-19, 3.22, 3.25, 4.3-4.9.

The term 'tessera' was used in Roman times to convey the Greek term σύμβολον (token). Small tiles are known as tokens, often shaped like coins, made of metal (copper, lead, iron), clay, bone, wood, or glass, stamped as well as engraved. The tokens, however, are not exclusively coin-shaped, as the Latin term 'tessera' suggests by etymologically referring to a square or at least a four-sided shape and confirmed in several cases by material remains of the past. Tokens and tesserae seem to have been used both in Athens and Rome for the distribution of goods. According to written sources, the term token is identified with credentials of the official authorities. They have also been interpreted as tokens of identity, as entrance tickets to theatre performances, tribunals or assemblies of citizens, archival material of seal engraving, as pawns in games, Charon’s obols and even as amulets.