Cypriot Tall Terracotta Warrior Figure

With D-section hollow-formed hoop and flared ellipsoid bezel, set with a Roman intaglio depicting a war galley under sail. 7.51 grams, 24 56 mm overall, 18.18 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P 1/2, USA 7 3/4, Europe 16.86, Japan 16)



Old private collection, 1970-1980. Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent. 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.12122-211870.

Representing a warrior with conical helmet riding his mount, round earrings. 209 grams, 14 cm high



From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

The most popular animals in Cypriot coroplasts of the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. were horses, with or without riders, with long necks and decorated along the whole body like contemporary ceramics. It is worth remembering that the horse, in this period represented a status symbol for the military aristocracy and that bodies of sacrificed horses have been found in royal tombs.

Comprising a round pedestal supporting four small offering pots, interspersed with four female face protomes; looped handle to the centre with parallel strokes in low-relief. 623 grams, 16 cm high



From the West German collection of H.W. Acquired from the De Mynter, Belgium, in 2011. with Gorny and Mosch, Munich, 3 June 2017, no.52. Private Portuguese R.M. collection. Accompanied by a previous catalogue information slip.

The kernos can be recognised by a series of small cups on the lip, with examples dating back to the Bronze Age. It was used to store offerings made to the gods, specifically in cults pertaining to Demeter and Persephone. The receptacles probably contained foodstuffs, or perhaps flowers, and a lamp was sometimes placed in the centre. Kernoses, such as this, were often carried in processions at the Eleusinian Mysteries (secret initiation rites celebrating the goddesses Demeter and Persephone) and were an important object for Greek religious life. Kernoses are thus closely related to the agrarian cult and to the myth of Persephone and Demeter, the goddess of fertility and agriculture. The myth is recounted on an Homeric Hymn (c. 650 B.C.) according to which Persephone, Demeter’s daughter, was seized by Hades, the king of the underworld, who brought her to his kingdom to make her his wife. Distraught, Demeter caused a terrible drought, which continued until Persephone returned to her mother from the underworld. Having consumed pomegranate seeds whilst she was in the Underworld, she was only able to be with her for a few months of the year.