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Archaic Greek Bronze Statuette of a Coiled and Rearing Snake Archaic Greek Bronze Statuette of a Coiled and Rearing Snake Archaic Greek Bronze Statuette of a Coiled and Rearing Snake
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Details

LOT 0531

Archaic Greek Bronze Statuette of a Coiled and Rearing Snake

ARCHAIC, 6TH-5TH CENTURY B.C.

4 1/4 in. (312 grams, 11 cm).

Modelled in the round with coiled body and rearing head, barbed fin to the forehead, punched annulet texturing on the body.

Provenance

Private collection, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, assembled in the 1980s.
Acquired in 1995 by a European private collector.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12856-241689.

Literature

See Dallas Museum of Art, object number 1969.7.

Footnotes

Snakes were important symbols in ancient Greek culture and were often linked with protection, healing, and renewal. Because they shed their skin, they were seen as a sign of rebirth and new life. They were also connected with gods and spirits of the earth and underworld, and in some cases were thought to protect the home or sacred places. In Greek art, a snake could therefore carry both religious and symbolic meaning.

CONDITION
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AUCTIONS:

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LOT 0531

Archaic Greek Bronze Statuette of a Coiled and Rearing Snake

Estimate £5,000 - 7,000€5,800 - 8,120 (for guidance only)$6,750 - 9,450 (for guidance only)

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