Antiquities

An important ancient Roman carved marble head and shoulders portrait bust of Septimius Severus, circa late 2nd/early 3rd century AD, Serapis type, the slightly over life-size head with thick trimmed moustache and long slightly forked beard, his wavy hair worked with four flowing locks at the forehead, his almond-shaped eyes with articulated pupils, raised on a later socle, overall height 81.5cm, width 58cm.

Provenance: Lords Kinnaird, Rossie Priory, Perthshire, Scotland; Edward Irvine Halliday CBE and thence by descent.

Note: this impressive portrait bust can be seen situated within the drawing room of Rossie Priory in a mid-19th century glass plate negative stereograph image on the University of St Andrews Collections website. Please note: as this is a negative image, it needs to be inverted to view it correctly; this will therefore place the medallion on the chest of Septimius on the correct side. Please see our website images to see this image reversed. Accompanying this lot, there are also numerous black and white photographs, thought to be taken in the 1950s, showing Edward Halliday and his family with the bust in his garden in St John's Wood, London. Septimius Severus was about forty-eight or forty-nine years old when he became Emperor in 193 AD. This portrait is of the so-called Serapis-Severus type, which was adopted in circa 200 AD to show the Emperor's association with the Egyptian god.

With thanks to Reverend Professor Martin Henig for his assistance in establishing the provenance of this lot.

An ancient Roman carved white marble cinerary urn, circa 2nd century AD, the rectangular body carved in relief with a ewer to one side, the front with five lines of text 'DIS MANIBVS. Q AMVLEI, IANVARI POSVERVNT LIBERTI EIVS', height 43cm, width 35cm, depth 31cm (cracks and loss).

Provenance: Lords Kinnaird, Rossie Priory, Perthshire, Scotland; Edward Irvine Halliday CBE and thence by descent.

Note: this urn can be placed within the collection of Lords Kinnaird at Rossie Priory by documentation of the Latin inscription from the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL). Please see our website for an image of the page. Presumably acquired in the late 1940s by Edward Halliday, soon after the Sotheby's sale in 1948 which included items from Rossie Priory. Accompanying this lot, there are also numerous black and white photographs, thought to be taken in the 1950s, showing Edward Halliday and his family with the urn in his garden in St John's Wood, London.

With thanks to Reverend Professor Martin Henig for his assistance in establishing the provenance of this lot.

An ancient carved stone section of an architectural column, probably Romano British, carved in relief with a band of upright leaves, height 34cm, diameter of column 18cm.

An ancient Roman/Gandhara white metal cup, 1st-3rd century AD, the circular rim tapering to a carinated domed base, length 11cm, diameter 8cm. Provenance: Christie's 14 September 2010, Sale 2337, Lot 56 A.

An ancient Roman/Gandhara white metal tray and cup, 1st-3rd century AD, the circular cup sitting in one of the two circular depressions on the tray, width 13cm. Provenance: Christie's 14 September 2010, Sale 2337, Lot 53.

A near pair of ancient Roman/Gandhara white metal circular bowls, 1st-3rd century AD, both with overturned rims, diameters 18cm and 17.2cm. Provenance: Christie's 14 September 2010, Sale 2337, Lot 51.

A graduated pair of Roman/Ganhara white metal phialai (shallow libation bowl), 1st-3rd century AD, diameters 24cm and 20.7cm. Provenance: Christie's 14 September 2010, Sale 2337, Lot 35 A.

An ancient Roman/Gandhara white metal bowl or cup of circular domed form, 1st-3rd century AD, diameter 11.5cm, together with two similar but damaged bowls, diameter of largest 15cm. Provenance: Christie's 14 September 2010, Sale 2337, Lot 41.

An ancient Roman/Gandhara white metal aryballoi, 1st-3rd century AD, height 7cm, two other damaged examples and a group of other fragmentary Roman/Gandhara objects, including a cup, a domed strainer, a ladle and a bowl. Provenance: Christie's 14 September 2010, Sale 2337, various lots combined.

A collection of Roman/Gandhara white metal fragmentary objects, 1st-3rd century AD, including three bowls and a repoussé decorated casing. Provenance: Christie's 14 September 2010, Sale 2337, Lot 55 and other lots combined.

An ancient Greek red figure lekythos, 6th century BC, the body decorated with a band of animals and figures, height 19.5cm.

A Canaanite Iron Age terracotta oil lamp of 'cocked hat' form, circa 800-500 BC, width 14cm. Provenance: Paul S. Forbes Collection, Maryland.

An ancient Etruscan bucchero kantharos, circa 625-550BC, the circular bowl with twin loop handles and toothed ridge, width 19.5cm (professional restoration to both handles). Provenance: North German private collector.

A Romano-Egyptian glazed pottery twin-handled amphoriskos, circa 1st-3rd century AD, height 9.8cm, together with a similar turquoise glazed jar of squat form, height 6.5cm.

An ancient Roman glass unguentarium, the long tapering neck with flared rim and bulbous base, height 18.3cm.

A group of three ancient Roman glass unguentariums, one with narrow neck and bulbous base, length 11cm, and two others of elongated ovoid form, length 13cm and 10cm.

An ancient Roman bronze handle, modelled in the form of a panther, the stylized legs with curved bracket supports, length 10cm. Provenance: Sotheby's 'A Cabinet of Curiosities: the Property of the Lord McAlpine of West Green', London 17th February 1994, part of Lot 84.

An ancient Roman turned bone dice shaker and cover, length 7.5cm. Provenance: Sotheby's 'A Cabinet of Curiosities: the Property of the Lord McAlpine of West Green', London 17th February 1994, part of Lot 84.

A carved rock crystal head and shoulders portrait bust, possibly modelled as Cornelius Tacitus, the chronicler of ancient Rome, height 6cm, raised on a turned brass pedestal.