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Details
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]
Provenance
Ex 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.
Literature
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.
Footnotes
The 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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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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