Ancient Roman Tile 'Table'
This is an ancient Roman tile fragment repurposed as a table top. The geometric tile pattern is set in a thick concrete substrate. There are some minor losses commensurate with age. This was inherited from my Father, Harry Bober, a noted NYU Institute of Fine Arts professor. I'm not sure where he acquired it from but in the mid 1970's, as an 18 year old, I spent many dozens of hours with a 'Dremel' type tool, carefully removing the encrustations from this piece in the Institute of Fine Arts Conservation laboratory on East 78th St. in NYC
c. 36" diam. x c. 2" thick including concrete substrate
Inherited
Yes
Hi David,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
Micro-mosaic table tops have been bringing some high prices at auction these days and while I can't be completely certain of its age, your assertion that it's Roman is probably correct and this is probably 100-200 CE. The tesserae appear to be in very good condition and the patterning is quite wonderful. Having provenance to your father won't hurt it's potential value either.
If you're looking to sell this, you might look for an auction house that sells antiquities but barring that, a house with a global online platform that will reach an international audience will be key to getting the most for this.
Others of this size (36 inches diameter) have sold recently for between $500 and $2,500; without seeing this in person, I'd appraise this at $1,000-1,500 with the potential for it going higher in the right auction.
Please let us know if you have additional items to appraise, or questions/concerns, and thank you again for using Mearto.
~ Delia
