ANTIQUITIES AND ISLAMIC ART SALE

Lot 100:

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A GROUP OF LEAD ROMAN FIGURES, CIRCA 3RD - 4TH CENTURY A.D.

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Start price: £20,000

Estimated price: £22,000 - £24,000

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Description

A rare and evocative assemblage of eight cast lead figures from the late Roman Empire, dating to approximately the 3rd–4th century A.D. Each figure is depicted standing or slightly shifting in posture, with a hand raised to the mouth or chin—a gesture often associated with votive behavior, ritual silence, or penitence.


The figures, all male and nude or semi-draped, share a similar modeling style and scale, indicating they likely originated from the same cultural or ritual context. Despite encrustations and surface loss from burial, traces of deliberate inscription are visible on several of the torsos, with Greek or Latin lettering still discernible. These may have served as curse tablets (defixiones), healing charms, or devotional offerings linked to private cultic practice or folk magic.

L: 9.5cm