Sold - Aug 06

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #561156
Sold - Aug

A rare light blue glass sprinkler vessel with moulded decoration to the body. The body was blown into a two-part mould which has created a pattern of concentric circles separated by raised dots, some of which are grouped in fours to look like berry clusters. The base is moulded with the same pattern. Mould-blown decorated glass was reserved (along with mosaic glass) for valuable contents and commanded a high price in antiquity. The manufacturing process would have been erratic and subject to ... Click for details

Sold - Sept 06

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #561155
Sold - Sep

A fragment from a white marble architectural fitting decorated with a series of parallel concentric circles, probably part of an edifice or pediment. Roman, 1st or 2nd Century AD Fragment as shown, grey surface patina. Size: 14.5 x 12.8 cms Provenance: formerly in the collection of Michael Alexander. Alexander was an author later in life and a Captain in the Special Boat Service during World War Two. He was captured behind enemy lines in North Africa and escaped execution by being incarcerat... Click for details

Sold - Aug 06

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #561148
Sold - Aug

A detailed glazed and moulded pottery fragment depicting an erotic scene. To the left is a figure of a naked satyr with a long horse-like tail. His body is turned towards a partially draped maiden who is attempting to flee from his grasp, but his left hand is on her shoulder and his right hand is aimed in the direction of her genitalia. The female figure appears to be attempting to cover her face with her cloak while exposing her right breast as the drapery falls around her arms. Satyrs are of... Click for details

Sold - Aug 08

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #561144
Sold - Aug

A pair of silver earrings mounted with two similar green and yellow glass beads. Egypt, Roman period , 1st to 4th Century AD Mounted on modern silver fittings and fully wearable. Size: circa 1.2 cms each bead.

SOLD - July 06

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #551336
SOLD - Jul

A red slip ware pottery bowl of flared form standing on a ring foot. The outside is decorated with profiled ridges and incised rouletting. This type of decoration is copying directly the pottery manufactured in Italy and Northern Europe, specifically "Dragendorff type 29". This is an uncommon type of pottery from the colonies of North Africa (Tunisia), and pre-dates the more usual variants. Roman, North African Colonies, c. 2nd Century AD. Intact except for minor wear and a small chip repair... Click for details

SOLD - Aug 06

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #551315
SOLD - Aug

A carved limestone head of a man, possibly a portrait of a late Roman emperor. The face is carved with large eyes, rounded cheeks and full lips. The hair is arranged in a stylised pattern of decorated and undecorated sections below a round cap or hat. Faint traces of red surface pigment survive in places. Roman, Eastern Empire, 5th Century AD. Sculpture carved in a similar style is particularly well recorded from Ephesus in modern Turkey. Fragment as shown, no repairs or re-cutting. The lime... Click for details

sold - Sept 06

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #545127
sold - Sep

A very fine and sophisticated bronze oil scraper (strigil) used to wipe scented cleansing oils from the skin during bathing. The handle is stamped below the scoop of the blade with the name of its maker, it is not quite clear enough to discern but appears to read "ANVAVS". The back of the handle is inlaid in silver with a long foliate tendril terminating in a trefoil bud. The rectangular cast handle is pierced by a squared-off attachment hole which appears to retain traces of a bronze chain. T... Click for details

sold - june 2006

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #545126
sold - jun

A red pottery fragment moulded in the form of the head of a Molossion hound. Of the canine breeds mentioned by classical authors, the best known were the small, swift Laconian (Spartan) and the heavier Molossian, both of which were native to Greece and used by the Romans for hunting (canis venaticus) and to watch over the house and livestock (canis pastoralis). "Never, with them on guard," says Virgil, "need you fear for your stalls a midnight thief, or onslaught of wolves, or Iberian brigands ... Click for details

Sold - oct 06

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #545120
Sold - oct

A bronze fishing hook with a barbed point and typical curved body. An amazing survivor! Roman, 1st to 3rd Century AD Intact save for some erosion to the upper tip (to which the line was attached). Very good patina. Provenance: Ex. Private collection, Denmark. Acquired before 1970.

Ancient Roman Glass Sprinkler Jar

Archives: Regional Art: Ancient World: Roman Pre AD 1000: item #541276

The earliest man-made glass predated the Roman empire by 2000 years, but the Romans used a greater quantity and variety of glass than any other civilization before the Renaissance. The discovery of glassblowing in the first century B.C. transformed glass from a luxury item into the medium for making objects for everyday use. Glass had a long history of production in the eastern Mediterranean, and the majority of common glass objects were produced in Syria and Israel during the later centuries of... Click for details