Beschreibung:

ROMAN BRONZE SQUARE-SHAPED BELL CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D. 3 1/4 in. (162 grams, 82 mm). Of quadrilateral form, with a rectangular cross-section at base, tapering to a rounded dome with large integral suspension loop with five facets to the outer face; clanger absent. [No Reserve] PROVENANCE: Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK. LITERATURE: Cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession numbers 98.11.34; 89.4.2429 and 89.4.1614, for similar. FOOTNOTES: The Romans used bells in ritual and secular contexts, when they could be suspended from the necks of animals, worn for talismanic protection or as anklets by servants. CONDITION