A SUPERB ROMAN ROCK CRYSTAL ‘FISH’ FLASK, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY AD

The long tapering body terminates in a small tail, delicately hollowed through the open mouth, the lips encircled by a raised rounded band. The large eyes are set above a curved groove indicating the gills, with the pectoral fins in relief. The dorsal, ventral, second dorsal, and anal fins are rendered as raised ridges, the dorsal and ventral examples neatly drilled for suspension.

Provenance: The property of a London Gentleman, acquired before 1970. Timeline Auctions, London, 9 September 2015, lot 352, sold for GBP 9,920 or approx. EUR 18,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing. Ariadne Galleries, New York and London, acquired from the above. A distinguished American private collection, acquired from the above on 23 January 2017. A copy of a certificate from Ariadne Galleries, describing the present lot as a fish flask and confirming the dating above, accompanies this lot. Ariadne Galleries has established a reputation as one of the world’s leading dealers in the field of ancient art. With a prominent gallery in New York’s upper East side for many years, in 2014 Ariadne opened its second gallery in London’s historic art district, Mayfair. With nearly fifty years in the industry, Ariadne boasts of several important private collectors and foundations among its clients, as well as some of the world’s most celebrated museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harvard University Art Museums, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Natural fissures, small chips, minor nibbling, and scattered nicks and light scratches.

Weight: 29.9 g (excl. stand), 53.4 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Length 8.8 cm (excl. stand), Height 3.5 cm (excl. stand), 5.5 cm (incl. stand)

With an associated stand. (2)

According to the Roman naturalist Pliny, rock crystal was believed to form from rainwater and snow (Natural History, 37.9). The very name derives from the Greek krystallos, from kryos (‘frost, cold, icy’). Because the stone was thought akin to ice and intolerant of heat, vessels carved from it were reserved for cold liquids alone.

This finely sculpted vessel in the form of a fish demonstrates the remarkable skill of Roman lapidaries. The body is hollowed through the open mouth to hold a precious liquid, while the dorsal and ventral fins are pierced for suspension. Rock crystal was a rare and costly luxury material, available only in limited sources and requiring extraordinary skill to carve. Pliny notes its value in Rome, recording a woman who paid 150,000 sesterces for a single crystal basin (Natural History, 37.10). He also recounts that Nero, in a final act of fury, dashed two crystal cups to pieces so that none might ever drink from them again. Such accounts underscore the prestige of crystal in the Roman world, where once broken it could not be repaired, and so was deemed worthy of emperors themselves.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 8 June 2001, lot 271
Price: USD 127,000 or approx. EUR 196,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Roman rock crystal fish flask, circa 1^st century AD
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and similar modeling, material, and size (8.6 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 12 April 2022, lot 97
Price: USD 69,300 or approx. EUR 66,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Roman rock crystal fish flask, circa 1^st century AD
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and similar modeling, material, and size (8.6 cm).

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