Romano-British 'Colchester' Roof Tile Sherd

With wide angled shoulders and cell to the bezel, inset carnelian intaglio bird with frond in its beak. 7.87 grams, 27.22 mm overall, 21.38 x 16.48 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M 1/2, USA 6 1/4, Europe 13.09, Japan 12)



Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman.

Each a cube with hollow centre and ring-and-dot markings disposed around the voids: 1:6, 2:5, 3:4 to voided face on each. 3.31 grams total, 11 mm each



From the important private collection of dice and gaming pieces of Colin Narbeth, London, UK, collection no.69.

An untranslated reused tablet with a recessed panel with traces of more than 15 lines with the remains of letters written in cursive script, originally the panel was covered by a layer of wax, with a stylus the writer scratched the text into the soft wax and often also into the wooden ground, as such tablets were normally reused several times, traces of different texts can be found on the wooden surface, four lines of large inked text to verso, a record of a transaction in a formulaic legal language; either from a legal document comprising two (diptychon) or three (triptychon) panels; pierced three times for attachment. 20.6 grams 13 x 13 cm



From an important London collection since 1975. Accompanied by a collection of eight 1970s photographs of the the tablet.

The contract follows the standard Roman legal formulae.