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Details
LOT 0829
Romano-British Enamelled Bronze Lid of a Pyxis
2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
2 1/2 in. (43.9 grams, 64 mm).
Hexagonal in plan with fastening holes, a band of cobalt blue enamelled spirals around the central aperture, interspersed with floral motifs, all enclosed within a scalloped border. [No Reserve]
Provenance
Acquired 1980s-1990s.
Private collection of H. N., Milton Keynes, Berkshire, UK.
Literature
Cf. Henderson, J., 'Technological characteristics of Roman enamels' in Jewellery Study, 5, 1991, pp.64-76, fig.6, for similar decoration.
Footnotes
Scholars have been able to establish the extent to which the manufacture of glass for enamel production was standardised through the Roman Empire during the 1st to 4th centuries. Enamels were probably fused from primary raw materials in specific production centres, one of which has been located in the Gallo-Roman villa of Anthee, France. The decoration with its undulating tendril and pellets in contrasting enamel is influenced by La Tène design of the 1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.
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