Roman Valentinian I Gold Solidus Coin Set in Gold Pendant Mount

Hollow-formed hoop with broad ellipsoid cell, inset red jasper intaglio profile bust of Serapis with modius; possibly a marriage, supplied with a museum-quality impression. 5.65 grams, 27.68 mm overall, 18.70 x 15.32 mm internal diameter (approximate size British L 1/2, USA 6, Europe 11.87, Japan 11)



Private European collection. Acquired in 2002. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13122-246778.

Serapis was a Graeco-Egyptian god combining the Egyptian gods Osiris and Apis, but with a decidedly Greek appearance. He was promoted by Ptolemy I in the 3rd century BC to help unite the Greek and Egyptian people. Later, Ptolemaic rulers spread his worship, and Serapis became popular across the Roman Empire. Outside Egypt, he was often identified as Isis's partner, replacing Osiris. Over time, he also adopted traits associated with the Greek gods, Hades and Dionysus.

Discoid in plan with a gorgoneion motif; hollow to reverse. 9.03 grams, 19 mM



Property of a European gentleman, acquired from the estate of a London collector (formed before 2000).

With a hollow spherical body decorated with slightly concave petals radiating from each end, separated by a central grooved band; one end with a tapering funnel marked by horizontal grooves, the other with a short tapering neck and a wide rim. 356 grams, 29.5 cm



Old Austrian private collection, 1980s. Accompanied by a copy of a nine-page examination report number 154/2026 by Dr habil Mikhail Treister. 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 number no.12905-242699.

Comparable instruments, usually called clepsydra in Greek and infundibulum in Latin, were in use in the 5th – first half of the 4th centuries B.C. A total of 13 such objects, or clepsydra, are known, including two of the unknown origin), represented by the finds both from Central (Lazio) and South (Campania, Calabria and Basilicata) Italy, Illyria (Apollonia) and Central Greece (Boeotia, Phocis) (all made of bronze), from the Taman peninsula in the North Pontic area, a fragmented one – from the Ulyap kurgan necropolis in the Trans-Kuban region and a silver piece from an aristocratic Thracian burial in the Plovdiv region. A distinctive feature of all these metal objects is the combination of a narrow vertical tube, at the lower end turning into a container with holes in the bottom.