Lot 1009:
AUGUSTAN CAPRICORN BEZEL
Roman Augustan period, after 31 BC - 14 AD.
Bronze ring bezel with engraving of a Capricorn on the left, surmounted by a cornucopia and with a rostrum below.
Dimensions: 16.5 x 12.5 mm.
Rare and choice. Superficial marks. The representation of the zodiac sign of Capricorn becomes common during the second half of the first century BC, when Octavian becomes Augustus and the Roman Republic officially ends.
Once the period of the 'Divus Filius' is over, in which Octavian had to affirm his direct descent from Caesar in order to claim the power that would later be imperial, a phase begins in which he will put aside his adoptive father figure, in order to be able to free himself as a 'new' entity.
Capricorn was the zodiac sign of Augustus (sign of conception and not of birth, as in use among the Romans), it will be widely used.
This bezel represents a celebratory ship's rostrum and is therefore certainly subsequent to the naval battle of Actium in 31 BC, in which Octavian's ships, commanded by Agrippa, defeated those of Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra, marking the end of the dispute.
Start price € 50
Current price € 50
Minimum bid: € 55
Minimum bid increment € 5
Bids: 1