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LOT 0552
Cypriot Alabaster Alabastron
6TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
4 3/8 in. (72 grams, 11 cm).
With a slender piriform body and two lug handles, conical neck with everted rim.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession no.74.51.5120, for similar; cf. also Bissing, F.W., Studien zur ältesten Kultur Italiens. IV. Alabastra. Studi Etruschi 13, pp. 131– 78, pls.XII-XIII for similar examples.
FootnotesAn example of the greater variability in form is the stone type with alabastron body and anthropomorphic top, sculpted with the upper body of a female. These types have been found in the eastern Mediterranean and Italy dating from the 7th century to the mid to late 6th century and can be divided into two groups: an eastern group beginning in the seventh century, based on Mesopotamian prototypes, and probably produced on Cyprus, as evidenced by its close relation to contemporary Cypriot sculpture; and a western group dating to the first half of the sixth century and produced in Etruria, probably in imitation of eastern examples.
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Greek Bronze Seal Ring with Hippocamp
Circa 5th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £228
Comprising a wide hoop and lentoid bezel with a leaping hippocamp holding a spear and a shield. 8.14 grams, 24.23 mm overall, 19.29 mm internal diameter (approximate size British S 1/2, USA 9 1/4, Europe 20.63, Japan 19)
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
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Greek Archaic Black-Figure Kylix with Inscriptions
550-530 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £10,530
With broad flat foot and short stem, broad bowl with carination at the shoulder and two strap shoulders; a palmette on each side of the handle; Side A) a standing siren with its wings spread, Greek inscription below 'XAIPE KAI ΠIEI EY' (Rejoice and drink well); Side B) a grazing stag with large antlers, Greek inscription below 'XAIPE KAI ΠIEI EY' (Rejoice and drink well). 178 grams, 21 cm wide
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. 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.12640-236638. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
'The Stanford Place Collection' Attic Marble Stele Anthemion Finial
4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £31,200
Carved in the form of an elaborate palmette with stems in the form of spiral tendrils rising from acanthus leaves, a small rosette at the top between the converging fronds; holes on the reverse for attachment to shaft; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 57 kg total, 47 cm (53.5 cm including stand)
Acquired on the New York, USA, art market, 1994. with Christie's, London, The Stanford Place Collection of Antiquities, 26 April 2006, no.30. Private collection, UK. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Christie's 'Stanford Place Collection' catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12614-235145. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This iconography was adapted from the Egyptian and Asiatic honeysuckle, also known as lotus palmette. First depicted on Attic white-ground lekythoi; in the 5th century B.C., then as architectural decoration, carved marble examples of this type of funerary monument were erected in the 5th-4th century B.C. It was not unusual for the anthemion to be of higher quality than the figures sculpted and painted beneath it. One splendid example is the stele of Paramythion (cf. Brinkmann-Wünsche, 2004, pp.148ff.). These memorials, originally painted, were venerated by families, anointed with oil, decorated with ribbons, and graced with offerings of food.
