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_900x900.jpg "Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp with Erotic Scene")
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LOT 0158
Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp with Erotic Scene
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
3 3/8 in. (51 grams, 87 mm).
Discoid in plan with short nozzle, broad shoulder with impressed rosettes, discus with scene of two lovers in a bed; underside with concentric rings.
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK art market before 2000.
Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
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Roman Red Marble Thumb Pestle
3rd-6th century A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £540
Pestle or grinding tool, the handle formed as a thumb with knuckle and nail detailing; old collector's label '2' to underside. 312 grams, 12 cm
Ex private collection, Mrs L.S., 1980s. Acquired from the above, 1999. Private European collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12096-218201.
Such items were mainly used by medical staff for grinding ingredients such as medicinal compounds, cosmetics and culinary spices. -
Roman Highly Iridescent Glass Bottle
Circa 1st century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
With a domed body and a pontil base, a tall neck with trumpet-shaped mouth and rolled rim; some iridescence. 37 grams, 16.3 cm
From an important collection of glass, London, UK, 1990s. -
Large Eastern Roman Green Glass Bottle with Iridescence
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,250
Piriform in profile with a narrow neck and flared mouth with a chamfered rim, dimple base. 945 grams, 29.5 cm high
From the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès private collection. with Artcurial, Paris, 25 March 2014, no.39. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12959-245241.
On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence and desirability of the piece.
