38 | however, interrupted on one side and allows one to look into the open interior. This interrupted cylinder is also crowned at the top by bird sculptures. In this case, however, the very similar construction is integrated into a rectangular “ash container” as a base, which has four feet on the outer sides. Heating was provided by glowing coals in the open interior of the double-walled cylinder. On the outer wall of the double-walled cylinder there is also a “tap” from which hot water could be drained, poured in from the high cylinder via the lid and fill the cavity between the walls of the low cylinder via the connecting shaft. It is possible that the authepsa here also had such a tap, but it has not been preserved. Since some of the missing parts in the outer wall have been filled in, the base of an opening for such a tap, including the tap, may have been lost either. The appliance presented here was probably heated by a small, low, round coal basin that was placed directly under the double-walled cylinder. Such small charcoal basins are known in large numbers from Pompeii and would correspond here in function to the rectangular “ash container” of the authepsa from Stabiae. If the conical top was placed over the “grill”, which already partially covered the upper side, the heat inside the double-walled cylinder was even more accumulated. At the same time, the tall cylinder may also have been used as an insert for a vessel, regardless of the fact that water had been poured into the interior of the construction beforehand. The heated water inside then warmed food or liquid in the inserted vessel, but could also have been used to make hot drinks from a lost (?) tap in the wall of the small cylinder (similar to a samovar). On the “grill” in the top of the small cylinder, another vessel could also be placed, which was heated both from below and by the cylinders of the grill filled with hot steam. Length of the entire apparatus ca. 60 cm, height ca. 70 cm, width ca. 26 cm. Some missing parts in the wall of the cylinders, which is largely preserved. The handles on the long sides reassembled in a modern manner. The underside of the apparatus reinforced by a plexiglass plate to provide a stable base for the components, which are now partly loose due to the dissolution of the soft soldering, to stand on in their entirety. Extremely rare and complexly constructed Roman bronze utensil with fittings of high artistic quality, as it was only found in distinguished households of the upper class. Provenance: From a private collection in the Rhineland, acquired in the late 1980s from art dealer M. P. based in Aachen and Brussels. Acquired by him in 1987 fromBelgian collector who had purchased the object in 1971 from an art dealer in Brussels. 312732 II + € 140.000 3) Tall sheet metal cylinder which can be closed at the top by a slightly curved lid with a handle on the principle of a modern beer mug. The upper rim closed by a solid cast ring with a Lesbian Kymation on the outside, handle and lid attached to it. Horizontal turning grooves on the wall. Towards the bottom the cylinder is profiled by a narrow upper and a wide lower bead, the bottom made of slightly outwardly curved sheet metal. Height of the cylinder with handle ca. 47 cm. Diameter 20 cm. 4) Feet: The entire construction is supported at the bottom by three solid cast feet with a horizontal bar on the inside. Two diagonally outwardly whitening on the high cylinder, one on the outside of the double-walled cylinder. All feet of the same design: Above a drum-shaped, profiled and centrally indented base a predatory cat’s foot , after a florally designed transition in the centre followed by a slightly forwardly curved upper body of an eros with boy’s hairdo and wings. Face and anatomical details finely worked out. Height of the feet ca. 30 cm. 5) Handles: The solid cast handles on the two long sides are of high artistic quality and offer the viewer a conundrum. On the one hand, the components can be seen as purely floral ornamentation with leaves, tendrils and fruits. At the same time, however, the arrangement of tendrils and leaves allows an interpretation as a mask-like grimace of vegetal elements, similar to a painting by Arcimboldo. Another reading fully in line with contemporary antique art would be a phallic symbol formed by the two fruits and the central long leaf. With these handles the whole apparatus could be carried and moved to the desired place. 6) Three bird sculptures: The fully sculpted birds can probably be interpreted quite reliably as geese on the basis of the design of the feet, plumage, neck and beak. 7) A conical cover made of sheet bronze could be placed over the grill, reminiscent of the lid of a simple, double-walled authepsa fromPompeii and placed over its central, open tube. Simple authepsae with only one high cylinder on three feet are also known fromPompeii, whose construction otherwise corresponds to the high cylinder present here. A vessel with water or food could be inserted into these authepsae from above, which was held in place by a ledge on the upper edge and heated from below by coals. In the place of the opening to the shaft, these authepsae had a door for filling in coal or emptying ash. The use of such a vessel would also have been conceivable in the present device. The solid upper rim ring has a bar projecting inwards all around on the inside, which can hold an inserted vessel. A complex authepsa from Stabiae is a good comparison for the entire construction. Here, too, the apparatus consists of a tall cylinder with a lid, a similar connecting shaft and a double-walled cylinder, which is,
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