Details

LOT 1488

Western Asiatic and Other Bronze Artefact Group

CIRCA 1ST MILLENNIUM A.D. AND LATER

5/8 - 2 in. (76 grams total, 16-52 mm).

Comprising: the body of a bow brooch, a kite-shaped mount with a fish, a beast-head mount or finial, a late Roman military belt strap end of 'amphora' type; a stamp seal with an ibex, and others. [9, No Reserve]

Provenance

From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

Literature

Cf. for the late Roman strap end Feugere, M., Tra Costantino e Teodosio (IV-V secolo d.C.). Osservazioni sui militaria di Aquileia’ in Aquileia Nostra Anno LXXXIII-LXXXIV, 2012-2013, tav.VI., no.90.

Footnotes

Amphora strap ends were common in the late Roman army and have been found in great numbers in Roman Britain. They are so-called because their shape resembles an amphora with handles on either side. In reality, they might represent phallic symbols, in keeping with the widespread use of such imagery in the Roman military.