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LOT 0593
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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Apulian Red-Figure Askos with Panthers
4th century B.C.Estimate: £2,500 - 3,500 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,250
With an arching strap handle and a wide spout; either side of the body painted with a crouching panther, one playing with a ball and the other depicted facing; repaired. 149 grams, 12 cm
Acquired from Gallery Gryphos, Munich, 1992. European private collection. 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 a search certificate number no.12001-211879.
Painted askoi in different forms were produced and been in use in Athens since the middle and second quarter of the 5th century B.C., but they were also made in southern Italy. The askoi painted with a pair of animal figures were realised in Magna Graecia after the Attic continental production of similar models, with the representation of griffins, sphinxes and laconic hounds. The function of the askos as a vessel was clearly linked to wine, and therefore it is not anomalous to see it decorated with panther motifs, an animal connected with Dionysus, the god of wine and drinking. -
Greek Archaic Painted Terracotta Skyphos
7th-early 6th century B.C.Estimate: £400 - 600 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £222
Conical in form with rounded shoulder, everted rim and two round-section handles; painted with concentric bands around the interior and exterior. 243 grams, 15.5 cm wide
Acquired in Europe before 1992. European collection.
The skyphos was already well known in Greece since the age of the Achaeans. In Homer, Eumaeus, the swineherd, prepares for his guest Ulysses a cyssibium filled with wine which the hero drinks during the meal and, when he is full, Eumaeus makes him drink from the cup in which he himself was using, a skyphos. Ulysses also offers Polyphemus a drink in a skyphos. -
Etruscan Bronze Statuette of a Priest Offering
4th-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
Modelled standing barefoot on an irregular base, wearing an ankle-length chlamys over a short-sleeved tunic; the left arm supporting a bunch of grapes, the right hand with a patera; the hair and beard neatly dressed; mounted on a custom-made stand. 279 grams total, 14 cm including stand
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. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12317-214667.
Lares were supernatural guardians revered in ancient Roman, the cult probably adapted from an Etruscan predecessor; the word lar derives from Etruscan larth - a leader or overlord. They were believed to guard the family's wealth and look after their health and wellbeing. An offering-plate is usually modelled in one of the figure's hands, onto which small libations could be made. They were usually worshipped in groups, but offerings to individuals are also known.