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_900x900.jpg "Etruscan Bronze Handle Pair with Heads of Medusa")
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_900x900.jpg "Etruscan Bronze Handle Pair with Heads of Medusa")
_200x200.jpg "Etruscan Bronze Handle Pair with Heads of Medusa")
_900x900.jpg "Etruscan Bronze Handle Pair with Heads of Medusa")
_200x200.jpg "Etruscan Bronze Handle Pair with Heads of Medusa")
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LOT 0077
Etruscan Bronze Handle Pair with Heads of Medusa
6TH-5TH CENTURY B.C.
4 3/8 in. (695 grams total, 11 cm wide each).
Each formed as a D-shaped fluted bar with the finials formed as grotesque Medusa heads in Archaic Greek style with protruding tongue and a pair of bearded snakes framing her forehead; mounted on custom-made display stands. [2]
ProvenanceEx private collection of Athos Moretti, Bellinzona, Switzerland, in the 1960s.
with Christies, London, 14 June 1978, lot 344.
with Sotheby's, New York, 29 May 1987, lot 154.
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 number no.11773-204596.
Cf. Torelli, M., Gli Etruschi, Monza, 2000; Cristofani, M., I bronzi degli Etruschi (Etruscan bronzes, in Italian), Novara, 1985; Cateni, G. (ed.), Etruschi di Volterra, capolavori dei grandi musei Europei, Milano, 2007, fig.9, pp.154-155.
FootnotesThe handles were possibly once part of a hydria or a stamnos. The workmanship of the nose and eyes of the Medusa recall the head of a gorgoneion from a chariot or cart fragment, today at the Metropolitan Museum (inventory no.29.131.3d1–d3).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0077
Etruscan Bronze Handle Pair with Heads of Medusa
Estimate £8,000 - 10,000€9,280 - 11,600 (for guidance only)$10,800 - 13,500 (for guidance only)
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Corinthian Black-Figure Aryballos with a Lion
Circa 600 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
The squat oil flask with slender neck and broad everted rim, painted with rosette petals around the mouth and base, spots encircling the rim, horizontal stipes to the strap handle, vegetal motifs and the forequarters of a roaring lion to one face of the body. 41.7 grams, 55 mm
Acquired from Dr. Jean Lauffenburger, circa 1980. Private collection, Europe. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11850-206480. -
Greek Terracotta Head Collection
3rd-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
Each modelled in the round and and derived from a larger female figure, some wearing diadems and some with draped heads; each mounted on a custom-made display base. 491 grams total, 9.5-13.5 cm high including stand
Acquired in the 1970s. Ex European private collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11795-206534.
These figurines reflect sculptural prototypes. Interestingly the head of one of the women is draped in a himation, and the head is turned slightly to the right like the terracotta of Amisos which represents a dancer. These figurines were most probably manufactured in Hellenistic cities by craftsmen who used either light yellow or dark brown clay. After the firing, the surface of the clay became reddish, while the core became grey-brown. The majority of the figurines were made from untreated clay with many impurities, such as coarse grain. Due to the quality of the clay the surface of the figurines was often rugged, despite the retouch, but were painted with vivid colours, as is still visible on the pink polos on one of the heads. -
Greek Silver-Gilt Mask of Silenus
3rd-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,470
Naturalistically modelled in repoussé as the mature and frowning face of the god Silenus; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 9.4 grams, 37 mm (160 grams total, 98 mm high including stand)
Ex old English collection. London art market, 1980s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11849-207741.
In Greek mythology, Silenus was a god of the forest, associated with musical creativity, ecstatic dance and drunkenness. He was also a prophet and a bearer of dire wisdom. When the god Dionysus was born from the thigh of Zeus, Hermes took the infant to live with Silenus, where he was raised together with local nymphs in a cave on mount Nysa. Silenus was frequently present in the train of Dionysus, fought with the latter against the giants, and accompanied him on his adventures.
