Cypriot Terracotta Jug

Comprising the upper two thirds of the vessel; on the shoulder a facing woman's head with diadem and half-veiled face; rosettes to left and right, with suspended ribbons and dots; vine motif around the body with floral ornaments; to the reverse, palmettes and vines; band of laurel with rosettes around the neck and wavy band at the mouth; reassembled from various fragments with three large areas of restoration, only the beginnings of the handles preserved; mounted on a custom-made stand. 1.95 kg, 31 cm (2.6 kg total, 47.5 cm high including stand)



Ex Herbert A. Cahn, Basel, 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12475-228738. 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 face-veiling gesture is a known marriage rite; the diadem may suggest that she is intended to represent Persephone. Alternatively, the veiled woman might be a dancer as many terracotta figurines of dancing women are shown with face-coverings. However, the floral ornaments could indicate a funeral or sepulchral context.

Comprising a hollow-form body with detailed calyx below, the suspension formed as a hollow collared bead with a thin connecting loop. 0.29 grams, 18 mm



From the collection of a late Japanese collector, 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Fruit were generally considered to be a symbol of sensuality, temptation and fertility; the giving and accepting of fruit may be regarded as a symbolic sexual act, or at least a prelude to marriage. It follows naturally that the pomegranate, with its innumerable fleshy seeds symbolising life and fecundity, was an attribute of Aphrodite.

A deep bowl with out-turned rim, convex base with concentric ring detailing. 197 grams, 16.6 cm



Ex London, UK, collections, 1990s-2000s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

In the necropolises of Southern Etruria, around the second half of the 8th century B.C., new technologies were used, which also involved metalworking. Alongside simple bronze cups intended for everyday use, similar magnificent examples containing a flourish of impressed or engraved geometric motifs were made.