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LOT 0871
Roman Terracotta Lamp with Fighting Gladiators
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
4 7/8 in (84 grams, 12.4 cm).
Composed of a discoid body with sunken discus bearing a scene of two gladiators in combat in relief, tabula ansata below, ring handle and roughly D-shaped nozzle with volutes; old crack to base.
ProvenanceFrom a German collection.
Ex Cambridge, UK, collection, 1980s.
Cf. Gilbert, F., Devenir Gladiateur, la vie quotidienne á l'ecole de la mort, La Capelle-Marival, 2013, pp.30-31, for similar lucernae.
FootnotesThe two gladiators seem to be wearing the armaturae of murmillones. All gladiators began their career as provocatores; the learning of their combat technique was polyvalent and allowed the fighters to specialise as a large shield-bearer (the scutati) like murmillones, or as a small shield-bearer, parmati, like the oplomachus.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0871
Roman Terracotta Lamp with Fighting Gladiators
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
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Roman Silver Ring with Portrait Gemstone
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Opening Bid: £444
Ellipsoid jasper insert with profile portrait bust of a female with tiered hairstyle and palla. 9.85 grams, 25.65 mm overall, 17.84 mm internal diameter (approximate size British G, USA 3 1/4, Europe 4.92, Japan 4)
From a London gentleman's, UK, collection, in the 1990s. -
Roman Mixed Pottery Sherd Group
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Including fragments of terracotta tile, bowl rims and bases, and other items. 4 kg total, 1-23.5 cm
From the collection of a late East Anglian teacher and antiquarian who retired to the Isle of Wight in Hampshire, UK. He amassed a large collection of objects between the 1960s-1980s. -
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5th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Aqua-coloured glass lamp-work bangle with ribbed construction. 29.5 grams, 66 mm
Acquired from Allan Cherry, Bournemouth, UK, 2005. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK. Accompanied by an illustrated display card.
The type is well known in the Eastern Empire from the 5th to the 7th century A.D. Usually these bracelets are decorated on outer surface with five continuous parallel horizontal ribs.