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LOT 0864
Roman Translucent Glass Bottle
1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
4 1/2 in. (20 grams, 11.5 cm high).
Having piriform-globular body and everted rim, tubular neck and flat base with small kick.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
See Whitehouse D., Roman Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, volume I, New York, 1997, cat.200, for the type.
FootnotesThe bottle seems to belong to the type 13 of the De Tommaso classification, but with a more piriform body. By the 1st century A.D., the technique of glass-blowing revolutionised the art of glass-making and allowed for the production of small medicine, incense, and perfume containers in new forms. Glass unguentaria, bottles and vessels of various shapes were manufactured with blow-pipes, free-blown, or mould-blown, and were prevalent throughout the all the provinces of the huge empire.
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AUCTIONS:
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Roman Gilt Bronze Phalera with Theseus and the Minotaur
2nd century B.C.- 2nd century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Domed roundel with high-relief design of combat between a bearded hero and a monster, wreath and rosettes to the rim. 32 grams, 49 mm
Found near Sedgeford, Norfolk, UK, in the 1980s. Acquired in the late 1990s. Property of a Norfolk, UK, collector.
According to the legend, Theseus, prince of Athens, went to the island of Crete to kill a monster who was the son of queen Pasifae and a wild bull, although officially he was the son of Minos and Pasiphae. Theseus chased him into the labyrinth, killed him and found his way out with the help of the comb of Ariadne, daughter of King Minos. The myth has its representation in the Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic period, and was widely depicted in the Graeco-Roman world. The present repoussé appliqué was probably used as a furniture or horse harness ornament. -
Roman Bronze Lion Head Finial
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Hollow-formed on a tubular shank with raised rim, modelled with dense curls to the mane, mouth open and tongue protruding. 159 grams, 67 mm
Acquired in Europe in 1994. European private collection. -
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Stone Corbel with Severed Head of a Gallo-Roman
Circa 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
Statue or frieze fragment with male head modelled in the half-round; circular face with large almond-shaped eyes, heavy brow, thick tousled hair framing the face, drooping moustache and short beard; presented at an oblique angle to the lower face of the block; two mounting holes to the underside. 22.8 kg, 43 cm
Found in Norfolk, UK. Acquired from Michael Booth, 1998. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
The angle of the face in respect of the block suggests that the head is both tilted and detached, i.e. that it is a tête coupé or severed head. The practice of headhunting is documented among the natives of both Gaul and Britain (and elsewhere) in the Iron Age. The head is then considered to have special powers to avert evil and promote fertility, cure disease and provide other benefits. This is the case with the carved head - a male mask with copious hair and beard - from the Roman baths at Bath, Somerset (the ancient Aquae Sulis) which was a site of worship long before the arrival of a Roman presence in the area (Ross, p.91). The head takes on the character of a deity and is believed to respond favourably to prayer.
