Ancient Art, Antiquities, Books, Natural History, Stamps & Coins

Formed as a naked pregnant woman in a squatting position, with sagging breasts and a strongly bulging belly; pubis clearly visible between the legs, which are spread wide apart; eyes and mouth perforated to serve as a spout; filling hole at the back of the head; left foot partly absent. 161 grams, 10 cm



Hans Jurgen Döpp (1940), Frankfurt. From The Erotica Collection of Christian von Faber-Castell, Küsnacht ZH, Switzerland; acquired from Bernd Gackstätter, Antikenkabinett Frankfurt.

Bulbous in profile, with a short, broad neck, a rolled rim, and an angled handle; obverse with a moulded mask of Bes, with lentoid eyes and a hatched face. 140 grams, 68 mm



From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.

Bes, a dwarf deity primarily of the household, was a powerful apotropaic entity who warded off evil spirits, guarded homes, and protected vulnerable family members, especially pregnant women and infants. Bes vessels were thought to imbue their contents with healing properties. Chemical analysis of some Graeco-Roman Bes vessels shows they held hallucinogenic, medicinal, and alcoholic blends explicitly tied to pregnancy rituals and ritual intoxication. During the Graeco-Roman Period, mould-made figure vessels and terracotta figurines became very common. By contrast, earlier eras produced almost none of these vessels; only one ceramic example is known from the New Kingdom, and none from the Third Intermediate or Late Periods. These mass-produced terracottas allowed non-elites to venerate cult images at home altars or leave them as accessible votive offerings at local sanctuaries.

Barrel-shaped in profile, with a stepped shoulder, wide neck, and broad, flared flange rim at the mouth, supported by two lateral strap handles; applied wreath decoration to the outer edge of the shoulder and vertical fronds to the lower body; restored. 1.48 kg, 17.8 cm high



Stift Neuberg (Neuberg Abbey) collection, Heidelberg, Germany, by 1893 and into the 20th century. Anonymous sale; Münzen und Medaillen, Auktion 41, 1972, no.151. Fiorella Cottier-Angeli collection, Geneva, 1981-2007. Herbert A. Cahn, acquired from the above. With Galerie Günter Puhze, Freiburg, 2007. Private collection, Midwest USA, acquired in 2007. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13477-262436.

Stift Neuberg was privately owned from 1798 until 1926. By 1893, a collection of antiquities had been assembled there, and its Greek and Roman holdings were published. It is believed that the amphora was acquired as part of this collection by Friedrich Alexander von Bernus (1838–1908), who inherited Stift Neuberg from his relative Johann Friedrich Schlosser (1780-1851), a nephew of Goethe. In 1926, the abbey was sold to the Benedictines and has remained a religious establishment ever since.

Mammiform body with flared pedestal base and two loop handles to the rim; each side with a facing image of an owl between laurel fronds; concentric circles to the base, Attic workmanship. 115 grams, 13.7 cm



From the private collection of Peter Clayton, FCILIP, Dip, Arch, FSA, FRNS, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, UK; formed since the late 1950s.

Squat in profile with lateral loop handles, vertical stripes to the rim, frieze with a grazing goat, a panther to its rear and a perching swan. 102 grams, 15.1 cm



Ex private collection, Tokyo, Japan, since the 1980s. Private European collection, acquired in 2010. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate no.13227-249320.

In agreement with most scholars of the Corinthian pottery, Amyx and Payne used the term kotyle, rather than skyphos, to designate the distinctive group of deep cups with no offset lip, horizontal handles set near the rim, a convex tapering body and a narrow, echinoid foot.

Ovoid body with tall neck and trefoil mouth, ribbed strap handle; body decorated with broad parallel bands and vertical zig-zags, with hatched lozenges along the shoulder. 1.23 kg, 34 cm



Ex Prof. Kurt Alder, Riehen, November 1978, from his uncle Dr Werner Alder, Lugano; thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13531-263113.

Vessels of the Geometric period (900-700 BCE) are easily recognisable by their abstract decorative designs, which originate from woven textiles and baskets. While early period pottery typically had sparse geometric motifs on a black background, the amount of decoration increased progressively to the point that the objects from the late Geometric period are often entirely covered - in this example, even the strap handle is decorated.

Comprising two irregular curved sidewall fragments, each with a finely painted youth in profile draped in a himation, attributed to the Akridion Painter; accompanied by a plate with previous auction listing information. 84 grams total, 54-58 mm



Acquired from Münzen und Medaillen AG, Basel, 1976. Ex Xavier Pasche, Lausanne. with Dobiaschofsky Auction, 14-17 May 2014, no.2519.

Elongated piriform amphora shape with short pedestal foot, tubular neck and everted rim, applied round-section handles to the neck and body; decorated with polychrome palmettes, cross and net motif. 98 grams, 14.9 cm



Private collection, France, 1970s. with Marta Bryl, Galerie Keramion, Paris, 2019.

With squat body on a flat base, two short loop handles to the equator and two animal-head protomes; painted pendant circle segments above concentric circles to the interior of the mouth; shoulder and body decorated with metopes, horizontal bands and vertical lines of differing colour and width; rectangle and swastika motifs in the metopes; pendant hourglass motifs in the lowest band; the vessel reassembled and some fragments replaced; bichrome ware. 1.74 kg, 20.3 cm high



From the estate of Hans-Ulrich Rutschmann, Switzerland, circa 1950s-1970s.

Bulbous in profile with a high, double-ribbed handle from the trefoil mouth to the shoulder; carinated collar above frieze of radiating tongues in glaze on the shoulder; two wavy bands on the neck, lines on the belly in opaque white. 1.04 kg, 28 cm



Ex Prof. A., Basel, Switzerland; thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13535-263127.

Greek influence in the Etruscan world emerged during the Orientalizing period with the introduction of wine, likely an Eastern variety, following the tradition of spiced Syro-Phoenician wines that had been significant in the preceding era. This involved not merely the importation of the product itself, but also the introduction and subsequent local production of the associated ceramic vessels used for its consumption, such as this oinochoe. This is significant, given that the banquet custom and the ritual of the symposium,in which participants reclined while dining, would not emerge in Etruria until later.

With ovoid body on a tall conical foot, ovoid body sloping steeply towards the neck with wide everted rim; applied geometric decoration in clusters of lines, broad stripes, dentil patterns, vertical zig-zags and hatched lozenges; at the shoulder, alternating metopes of saltires, quatrefoils and swastikas; one handle largely absent. 2.58 kg, 43.5 cm



Ex Prof. Kurt Alder, Riehen, acquired in October 1978; thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13512-263122.

By the last quarter of the 8th century B.C., the Oinotrian-Euboean production was diffused in the Greek Italic Colonies, characterised by larger vessels with elaborate figurative decoration similar to decoration known from Eretria. A detailed stylistic correspondence can be observed between the Cesnola-inspired fragments from the area north of the Daphnéphoros sanctuary of Apollo in Eretria and a decorated stand from the Timpone della Motta. With this elaborate series, the Oinotrian-Euboean production is consistent with the high craft specialisation observed in the local Euboeanizing production on Ischia.

Featuring a monumental shallow bowl with two strap handles on the rim and a low foot; the inside of the bowl with a central scene featuring a nude winged male figure offering a lekythos to the woman seated before him; the woman dressed in a chiton and wearing a double-row necklace, large earrings and a diadem indicated by pellets, holding a double branch with leaves in her left hand; a low altar on the foreground and foliate and floral decoration beneath the scene; the scene enclosed within a painted grapevine border; four raised conical bosses on the rim and one on top of each handle; the lower part of the rim decorated with ovules; underside with a band of Greek key motifs and large palmettes on the sides, Side A: mythological scene with a satyr standing on the left, a seated woman at the centre holding a wreath and an open cista, her head turned towards another woman behind her, holding a fan and a ritual object in her hands; Side B: a draped female on the left, holding a stalk and a cista, advancing to the left while gazing back towards an advancing nude winged figure; restored. 3.1 kg, 49.5 cm wide



Private collection, South of France, acquired in 1999. Accompanied by a printed copy of the Spanish cultural export licence no.1775-3178156. Accompanied by a copy of a thermoluminescence report issued by Alliance Science Art, no.612151. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13460-261208.

The intricate designs and stylistic features of this kylix suggest it may belong to the followers of the renowned Darius Painter. The Darius Painter, active in Apulia (modern-day Southern Italy) during the late 4th century B.C., is known for his elaborate and finely detailed red-figure pottery. His works often depict complex mythological scenes and demonstrate a high level of artistic sophistication and technical skill. Key features that align this vessel with the Darius Painter and his workshop include the detailed mythological scene in the central medallion, the refined use of additional white and yellow pigments to highlight key elements, and the balanced composition of figures and decorative motifs. The presence of Eros and other mythological elements is also characteristic of the themes favoured by the Darius Painter.