Lot 329: AN ANCIENT ROMAN CAST BRONZE LADLE WITH ZOOMORPHIC TERMINAL

A cast copper alloy ladle of classical form, consistent with Roman provincial metalwork. The object features a deep hemispherical bowl joined at a right angle to a long, tapering flat handle. The handle terminates in a recurved hook fashioned into a stylised bird head, likely a swan or duck, designed to hang the vessel from the rim of a larger mixing bowl. The surface displays a variegated natural patina ranging from deep brown to golden-bronze. An incised mark consisting of two vertical strokes connected by a horizontal crossbar, reading as the character H, is visible on the inner curve of the bird-head terminal.

L: 23cm