Cylindrical, on circular domed base chased with grapes and foliage, the silver cagework sleeve chased with three classical profiles inscribed 'MARCELlUS OCT., AGRIPPINA' and 'DRUSUS TITUS' interspaced with military trophies, the domed cover with ball finial on foliage calyx, the cover fitted inside with a disk engraved with coat-of-arms and initials 'I.K.V.S.', engraved underneath with initials 'M.G.D.', marked on base and cover, with later Austro-Hungarian control marks for Salzburg
6³⁄₄ in. (17 cm.) high
19 oz. 5 dwt. (600 gr.)

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Lot Essay

Marcellus Octavia stands for Octavia the Younger (69/66–11 BC) the elder sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus (known also as Octavian), the half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and the fourth wife of Mark Antony. One of the most prominent women in Roman history, Octavia was respected and admired by contemporaries for her loyalty, nobility and humanity, and for maintaining traditional Roman feminine virtues.
She was also the great-grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, maternal grandmother of the Emperor Claudius, and paternal great-grandmother and maternal great-great-grandmother of the Emperor Nero.

Agrippina, Octavia the Younger's great-grandaughter, (AD 15 -AD 59), was a Roman empress, daughter of the Roman general Germanicus. Her mother was Agrippina the Elder. One of the most prominent women in the Julio-Claudian dynasty, she advised on the Roman state affairs, placing her son Nero in the line of succession after her husband Emperor Claudius and exerted a commanding influence in the early years of Emperor Nero's reign before she was killed.

The classical profile Drusus Titus refers to Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus (38 BC- 9 BC) also called Drusus the Elder, a Roman politician and military commander. He was also brother of the Emperor Tiberius, father to both the Emperor Claudius and General Germanicus, paternal grandfather of the Emperor Caligula, and maternal great-grandfather of the Emperor Nero.
He launched the first major Roman campaigns across the Rhine and began the conquest of Germania, becoming the first Roman general to reach the Weser and Elbe rivers.