Lot 57
ROMAN POLYCHROME FRESCO FRAGMENTS FROM GLEVUM (GLOUCESTER) COLONIA
GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, 1ST - 4TH CENTURY A.D.
Auction: 26 November 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
painted plaster, fifteen fragments ranging in size and shape, painted in varying shades of red, blue, green and yellow
Dimensions
largest 9cm
Provenance
Uncovered during excavations conducted at Bell Lane, Gloucester, United Kingdom 1966-1967
Simon Neal, United Kingdom
Footnote
Following its abandonment as a military headquarters, Glevum (modern Gloucester) was established as a Roman colonia around 96–98 AD, becoming an important centre of civilian life in Roman Britain. Settled initially by retired legionaries and their families, the town developed along a regular street grid, with public buildings, shops and private residences, and was comparable in size to Roman Lincoln. Its inhabitants enjoyed many of the amenities associated with Roman urban life, including public baths, markets and temples, whilst trade with the surrounding countryside supported a prosperous local economy. The present group of polychrome painted plaster fragments likely dates to this period of civilian occupation, when Roman decorative fashions became increasingly established within the town. Such painted interiors would have provided colour and ornament to domestic spaces, offering a glimpse of the tastes and aspirations of Glevum's Romano-British inhabitants.