Roman Unfinished Brooch Casting

A set of military belt elements comprising: a buckle with rectangular plate, richly decorated with embossed laurel leaves in a grid, framed with raised bosses, the buckle loop comprising opposing dragons with open mouths, holding a spherical tongue-rest, another pair of smaller dragon heads to base, the tongue with a smaller pair of punch-decorated dragon heads; three rectangular belt fittings, two with similar laurel leaf decoration and raised border, the central plaque with two foliate pendants with punched decoration. 390 grams total, 27.5 cm wide

Very fine, excellent condition

Acquired before the 1970s. Ex J.L. collection, Surrey, U.K., thence by decent. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11588-199387.

Most precious military belts, like this one, were reserved to soldiers belonging to Legiones Palatinae, i.e. the legions forming part of the imperial Comitatus, accompanying the emperor in his military expeditions.

A clay lamp with rounded lug handle, shoulder with foliage in relief on each side, separated from the slightly concave discus by a ridge, which continues toward the round-tipped nozzle forming a wide channel between the discus and the wick hole; two equal-sized filling-holes at upper and lower part of the discus decorated with a lion running left, raised slightly convex base-ring with an additional inner ring. 163 grams, 13.5 cm



Acquired from a central London Antiquities Dealers Association (ADA) member's gallery in 1990. From the estate of a Lancashire gentleman.

The present lamps seems to be molded in Terra Sigillata Africana (TSA) = African Red Slip (ARS) and can be related to Atlante types VI. The passage from lamps of Loeschcke type VIII in TSA with a heart-shaped nozzle ( = Atlante form I) to the channelled so-called Christian lamps ( = Atlante forms VIII and X, or Hayes types I and II) was progressively achieved by three factors: the transformation of the initially circular discus into an oval shape, the elongation of the nozzle, and the increased width and length of the channel.

A 2nd-3rd century A.D. Roman marble Corinthian capital fragment carved with acanthus leaves; together with a 16th-17th century A.D. reworked male head modelled in the round with naturalistic detailing. 16.2 kg total, 44 cm high including stand



Acquired on the UK art market. English private collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11623-199751.