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LOT 0688
Small Roman Glass Flask with Trail
4TH CENTURY A.D.
2 3/4 in. (13.5 grams, 70 mm).
With a bulbous body and tubular neck with applied trail decoration.
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1990s from London dealerships and auction houses.
From the Lonson collection.
See Lightfoot, C.S., Ancient Glass in National Museum Scotland, Edinburgh, 2007, p.137, no.341, for the type.
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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Bell-shaped body with tubular neck and rolled rim. 26.6 grams, 11.6 cm
Acquired from Shirley Warren Antique Glass, Surrey, UK. From the collection of a Bedfordshire, UK, lady. -
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Very Large Eastern Roman Blue Glass Bottle with Iridescence
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120
Piriform in profile with a narrow neck and flared mouth with a chamfered rim, dimple base. 949 grams, 29.1 cm
From the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès private collection. with Artcurial, Paris, 25 March 2014, no.39. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12959-245241.
On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence and desirability of the piece. -
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Roman Red Jasper Magical Stomach Amulet with Hercules Fighting a Lion
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Bifacial type with incuse design on one side of a Hercules fighting the Nemean lion, club adjacent, and on the other face two columns of angular characters including 'KKK'; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 1.06 grams, 16 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
