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LOT 0088
Roman White Chalcedony Cameo of a Theatrical Mask
1ST CENTURY A.D.
1/2 in. (1.07 grams, 13 mm).
Showing a New Comedy, 'Cook' type theatre mask with an open mouth; supplied with a museum-quality impression.
ProvenancePrivate English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s.
Private collection, London, UK.
Cf. Spier, J., Ancient Gems and finger Rings, catalogue of the collections, the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1992, no.292, for a gemstone with a similar bearded comic mask in three-quarter profile.
FootnotesMiniature models of theatrical masks were mass-produced in the ancient world, and can be linked with the Dionysiac mysteries, in association with funeral rites, illustrating the Dionysiac thiasos, the orgiastic world of satyrs and maenads. However, they can also be miniature models of masks linked with highbrow Sophoclean and Euripidean tragedy, or with so-called Middle Comedy, which now only survives in fragments.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0088
Roman White Chalcedony Cameo of a Theatrical Mask
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£500 (EUR 580; USD 675) +BP*
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Roman Bone Gaming Die
Circa 1st-4th century A.D.Estimate: £70 - 90 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
Polygonal with ring-and-dot markings arranged 1:6, 2:3, 4:5. 1.63 grams, 11 mm
Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Roman Bronze Eagle Plate Brooch
2nd-3rd century A.D.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
Formed as an eagle with its head turned to the side, spread wings and tail, pin and catchplate on the reverse. 8.43 grams, 32 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Large Graeco-Roman Silver Wine Infundibulum
5th century B.C.-1st century A.D.Estimate: £30,000 - 40,000 (+bp*)
Bids: 7 | Current Bid: £30,000
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.
