An Ancient Roman repoussé bronze plaque with ribbed borders. A bearded male is depicted in three-quarter view with fleshy cheeks; he wears a toga and a wreath of leaves and flowers. The plaque is pierced near the four corners for attachment and presents green patination on its surface. The reverse is rough and unadorned and presents earthly encrustations. Chipping and warping to the edges of the plaque. The plaque is mounted on a purposely made stand made of black wood. Bronze objects were ubiquitous across the ancient Roman world, but prominent particularly in a military context. The Roman army used a variety of bronze belts and harness equipment for both practical and decorative purposes. This bronze sheet is likely to have functioned as a belt cover, and made with the repoussé technique – hammering the sheet metal into a die, and cutting a decorative scene into its reverse. Bronze manufacts are rare and precious evidence of ancient Roman workmanship, many of which have been lost, melted and recast into new objects throughout the centuries. Measurements (circa): W 6 x H 6 cm Provenance: Acquired on the London art market in the late 1990s.