FORVM`s Classical Numismatics Discussion Board

Antiquities Discussion Forums => Other Antiquities => Topic started by: solon on January 30, 2021, 07:07:57 am

Title: Greek or Roman?
Post by: solon on January 30, 2021, 07:07:57 am: A friend has posted this picture.

PB Approx. 100g.

Is this a weight or a seal ?

Thank you in advance for your help.
Title: Re: Greek or Roman?
Post by: djmacdo on January 30, 2021, 07:18:52 am: It appears to be a piece of baked clay. I doubt it is ancient. The style is mediocre.
Title: Re: Greek or Roman?
Post by: Altamura on January 30, 2021, 08:50:00 am: Perhaps it is a mold for something :-\.

Quote from: djmacdo on January 30, 2021, 07:18:52 am
It appears to be a piece of baked clay. I doubt it is ancient. The style is mediocre.
There have been phases and places in antiquity with mediocre styles, this alone doesn't exclude it to be ancient.

Regards

Altamura
Title: Re: Greek or Roman?
Post by: djmacdo on January 30, 2021, 03:44:55 pm: True, but the cruder it is, the easier to fake as so more suspicious. Do you see anything that indicates that it is ancient? Does it appear to be a piece of anything larger or to have had a use in its current form?
Title: Re: Greek or Roman?
Post by: Altamura on January 31, 2021, 02:47:10 am: Quote from: djmacdo on January 30, 2021, 03:44:55 pm
... Does it appear to be a piece of anything larger ...
Perhaps, perhaps not. The left and the upper edge seem to be quite straight, the remaining two seem to be damaged. We cannot tell :-\.

Quote from: djmacdo on January 30, 2021, 03:44:55 pm
... or to have had a use in its current form? ...
Again: It looks to me like a mold. There have been in antiquity e.g. lots of crude votive figurines in very bad style made by the use of molds.
But because of this crudeness you cannot decide from what time it could be, this could go perhaps until the 19th century, who knows :-\?

Quote from: djmacdo on January 30, 2021, 03:44:55 pm
... True, but the cruder it is, the easier to fake as so more suspicious. Do you see anything that indicates that it is ancient? ...
It does not look really old (no stains) but also not really new (no sharp edges). For me the question simply is undecided :-\. I don't have to buy it, so I can leave it like this :).

Regards

Altamura
Title: Re: Greek or Roman?
Post by: SC on January 31, 2021, 08:40:27 am: I wonder how tall the figure is?

Its style does look odd. Not just crude, but I am having problems with the entire upper body.

I wondered if it could be a mold for a lead votive statuette. But there is no channel for the metal flow which means it would have to simply sit flat and open-topped with the metal poured directly in. Not an efficient or common way.

Still the brick fabric and patina does look like my Roman military bricks so I am not condemning it as fake - just odd and slightly concerning.

SC
Title: Re: Greek or Roman?
Post by: Altamura on January 31, 2021, 09:54:20 am: The product could have looked as below. A female figure to right with a cornucopia?

Regards

Altamura