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LOT 0611
Cypriot Terracotta Figure Head Collection
CIRCA 1000 B.C.
1 3/4 - 4 1/8 in. (476 grams total, 4.5-10.5 cm).
Group of terracotta heads from figurines, one with moulded facial detailing, the others pinched. [7, No Reserve]
ProvenanceOne with antique tag: 'CYPRUS / C.1000 BC / Terracotta Fragment of / Mother-Goddess.'
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.
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AUCTIONS:
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Gold Pendant Bead Group
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Comprising two Hellenistic or Mesopotamian ribbed tubular beads and a larger bead with hatched sides, ribbed bulb to each end. 5.74 grams total, 17-52 mm
From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s. -
Hellenistic Gold Cloak Fastener
2nd century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
With a round-section omega-shaped shank and knop finial; drum-shaped cell with inset garnet cloison, intaglio female profile bust with diadem, ribbed panel above the cell. 7.27 grams, 28 mm
In a Canadian collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Alberta gentleman. From the private collection of John Lawton, Surrey, UK. -
Greek Campanian Black-Glazed Kernos
Late 4th century B.C.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £800
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.
