Romano-British Bow Brooch Collection

Modelled standing in the round with naturalistic detailing, with curled horns and wearing a saddle bag. 11.6 grams, 24 mm



‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection.

Complete with pin lug, pin and catchplate to reverse; bird standing right with wings folded against the body, remains of silvered detailing to the feathers and head. 2.9 grams, 25 mm



Found The Rodings, Essex, UK.

Excavating an archaeological site at Salthouse in October 1980, Alex Vines found a bronze bird thought to be part of a Roman duck brooch. The shape was slightly different from our specimen, but it confirmed that brooches shaped as ducks were used by civilians in 2nd-3rd century Roman Britannia. The zoomorphic brooches were typical in Britain as many of the birds shown were either representative of native birds or of ducks.

Probably from a colossal statue of Silenus or a satyr, detailed and naturalistic rendering of a left ear, conical shape with accurate depiction of the internal hair. 767 grams, 18.5 cm



Acquired in Europe before 1995. Private collection, Europe.

In the mythology of ancient Greece and in the Graeco-Roman literary world, satyrs were a community of beings who lived mostly in woods, surrounded by nature, and often together with nymphs. In the most ancient period they were imagined by the Greeks like Sileni, in human form, but with the ears, tail and sometimes hooves of horses. Seilenoi were depicted as fat, elderly, white-haired men, with snub noses, balding heads, and the ears and tails of asses. They were sometimes covered in fluffy white hair and occasionally sported a pair of ox horns.