Pasinati of Rome

Post started earlier this week but never published

I’m waiting for my next Haeberlin tray and thinking about where he sourced his coins and equally where the Nemi coins not in Nottingham… Haeberlin bought a number, but most went to Pasinati and we have no weights. Who was Pasinati? I must say I’m surprised at my lack of luck thus far satisfying my curiosity about his identity and how his portion of the Nemi material was likely dispersed.

I’m looking for traces of what he was known to have…

Garrucci included a piece from his collection in his supplement:

“From the collection of Pasinati, now in that of Mr. Pietro Stettiner. Fragment of a quadrilateral bar with a dolphin of archaic style on both sides, the first quadrilateral known to be found in Rome, it was raised from the waters of the Tiber precisely between Ponte Kotto and Ripa Grande, Pesa gr. 1460 equal to four pounds, four ounces and 12 grams. I take argument from the place given to the dolphin to believe that a similar dolphin must have been figured in the missing part. I say, because it was cut, because you can see a marked line and just above it the mark of the ax to arrange the bronze for the blow of the mallet. The entire quadrilateral must therefore have weighed an eight to nine pounds. It is notable that in this quadrilateral bar the thickness of the burr protruding between the two brackets is the same from top to bottom, and regular. There is so far no bronze of this class so elegant and symmetrical.” (Machine aided translation)

Given that it is in the supplement and not the main text we can perhaps assume it came to light in the early 1880s as Garrucci was finishing his work. And… yes, Haeberlin was able to see (or at least get a cast) of the bar itself and says it came out of the Tiber in 1883 and then was acquired by Gnecchi…

The drawing is much more attractive than the actual piece as is too often the way. I wonder where it is today? I’d love a better photograph. The Rome provenance is very important to associate this type of bar with the city and its monetary history.

Haeberlin records just one purchase from Pasinati in 1895, an RRC 18/1 piece. Notice however under no. 46 that Stettiner (a name familiar from just above!) sold Haeberlin one of his Nemi pieces. I wonder how much of the Nemi material ended up with Stettiner (someone else to track down).

His 1888 subscription to RIN gives me his first name, Francesco.

He was already active by 1870 when he is mentioned for his possession a large bronze strigil with the handle in the shape of a woman recently excavated at Praeneste.