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Barnebys HQ
Brahegatan 10
BOX 5038
114 37 Stockholm
All auctions / Ancient Art / Ancient Roman Bronze Fragmentary plaque with incised inscription
ITEM: Fragmentary plaque with incised inscription MATERIAL: Bronze CULTURE: Roman PERIOD: 3rd - 4th Century A.D DIMENSIONS: 118 mm x 50 mm CONDITION: Good condition PROVENANCE: Ex English private collection, acquired between 1970 - 1990 Fragmentary Roman bronze plaques bearing incised inscriptions represent vital official records from the administrative, military, and religious life of the Roman Empire. Cast into thin sheet metal or hammered sheets, these bronze tablets (tabulae) were deeply engraved using a sharp iron burin or chisel to execute neat, capitalis quadrata or rustica Latin lettering. Plaques were often pre-drilled with perimeter holes for nailing onto the walls of public basilicas, temples, or military headquarters (principia). Over centuries buried in soil or submerged in water, the copper alloy develops a characteristic green or dark olive malachite patina, while jagged fracture lines reflect ancient destruction or intentional recycling of valuable metal scrap. The nature of the text on such fragments varied widely depending on the plaque's original civic or sacred context. Many surviving fragments belong to Roman military diplomas (diplomata militaria), which officially granted Roman citizenship and discharge rights (honesta missio) to auxiliary veterans after twenty-five years of service. Other bronze plaques recorded municipal charters (leges), senatorial decrees, land boundary surveys, public treaties, or formal votive offerings (vota) dedicated to deities in sanctuaries. Because bronze was a durable yet costly medium, its use was reserved for legal decrees and official documents intended to be publicly displayed as permanent, authoritative law. Comes with Certificate of Authenticity and Export license
Estimate:£933.07
To the auctionView all items fromCatawikiorAncient Art
Estimate:
£933.07
OCT 8 | 3:00 PM
OCT 8 | 3:00 PM
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