Lot 36
LARGE FRAGMENT OF ROMAN IMPERIAL PORPHYRY
GEBEL DOKHAN, EGYPT, C. 1ST – 5TH CENTURY A.D.
Auction: 28 May 2026 from 13:00 BST
Description
cut porphyry, front likely re-polished in the 18th century, exhibiting a deep reddish-purple ground with scattered pale pink and white crystalline inclusions, mounted on a bespoke stand
Dimensions
Height: 27.2cm tall
Weight: 4.78kg
Provenance
Private collection, West Country, United Kingdom, acquired prior to 2005
Footnote
The present piece of Egyptian porphyry originates from the quarries at Gebel Dokhan, situated in Egypt’s Red Sea Hills. Discovered in the early first century AD, these sites remained under Roman Imperial control and were actively exploited until the fifth century. This piece would have been quarried during the antique period and transported over considerable distances, first along the Nile, then across the Mediterranean, to reach Roman centres, reflecting the immense effort and resources devoted to procuring this rare Imperial material.