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LOT 0579
Cypriot Terracotta Figure Group
EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
2 1/2 - 3 3/4 in. (91 grams total, 63-94 mm including stand).
Including standing female with painted collar, and other types; each mounted on a custom-made display stand. [3, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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Cypriot Trefoil Mouthed Terracotta Jug
Early Bronze Age, 2500-1900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Biconvex in profile with broad shoulder and pinched trefoil mouth, strap handle to the rear; band of incised multilinear zigzag ornament to the shoulder. 903 grams, 14.8 cm
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 vessel belongs to the group of Philia red polished ware, a ware imported in Cyprus from Anatolian refugees, or locally made by copying external imports. It was characterised by multiple zigzag and open herringbone bands. -
Greek Bronze Signet Ring with Pan
4th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
With scaphoid bezel, intaglio seated faun with syrinx. 3.55 grams, 20.92 mm overall, 17.06 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M, USA 6, Europe 12.46, Japan 12)
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Greek Campanian Black-Glazed Kernos
Late 4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,560
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 in 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.
