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LOT 0867
Romano-British 'Published' Bronze Gaming Counter
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D. OR LATER
3/4 in. (4.5 grams, 18 mm).
Discoid in form with twelve impressed dots, two parallel lines and one perpendicular. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound Cirencester, UK, prior to 1999.
Acquired 4 February 1999.
From the important private collection of dice and gaming pieces of Colin Narbeth, London, UK, collection no.59.
Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Celtic & Roman Artefacts book pages where this object is published.
Mills, Nigel, Celtic & Roman Artefacts, Witham, 2000, p.114, item no.RB358.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0867
Romano-British 'Published' Bronze Gaming Counter
Sold for (Inc. bp): £293
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Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp with Lion
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Loop handle to the rear, low discus with an advancing lion with its head turned to the right, hatched decoration on the shoulder; concentric circles to the base. 108 grams, 11.2 cm
Acquired on the European art market, 1980s. English private collection.
This lamp belongs to the group of Provincial African lamps with a plain shoulder and a heart-shaped nozzle. Usually they are classified as D IX, but Italic and African variants of D X are very similar and have the shoulders with closely spaced outward-slanted rays, separated from discus by two circular grooves, here hardly visible. -
Roman Bronze Punched Tabula Ansata Appliqué
2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Rectangular plate with trapezoidal ends, pointillé decoration. 2.5 grams, 45 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman.
These tabulae ansatae with pointillé decoration were used for votive inscriptions to the gods, offered on the occasion of a vow made during a situation of danger or an invocation of help to the gods. They were often used in the military field. A particularly important example is the one found in Carnuntum dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus, offered by the centurion Titius Moderatus of the Legio XI Gemina. -
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Stone Corbel with Severed Head of a Gallo-Roman
Circa 2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
Statue or frieze fragment with male head modelled in the half-round; circular face with large almond-shaped eyes, heavy brow, thick tousled hair framing the face, drooping moustache and short beard; presented at an oblique angle to the lower face of the block; two mounting holes to the underside. 22.8 kg, 43 cm
Found in Norfolk, UK. Acquired from Michael Booth, 1998. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
The angle of the face in respect of the block suggests that the head is both tilted and detached, i.e. that it is a tête coupé or severed head. The practice of headhunting is documented among the natives of both Gaul and Britain (and elsewhere) in the Iron Age. The head is then considered to have special powers to avert evil and promote fertility, cure disease and provide other benefits. This is the case with the carved head - a male mask with copious hair and beard - from the Roman baths at Bath, Somerset (the ancient Aquae Sulis) which was a site of worship long before the arrival of a Roman presence in the area (Ross, p.91). The head takes on the character of a deity and is believed to respond favourably to prayer.
