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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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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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Greek Net-Painted Black-Figure Lekythos
Apulian, 4th century B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £300
The ovoid body decorated with cross-hatching, solid band to the shoulder and vertical bands to the slender neck, trumpet-shaped mouth, strap handle and discoid foot; repaired. 72 grams, 91 mm
Ex Mister X. (1931-2017) private collection. Sold in the benefit of the 'Croix-Rouge of Monaco'. -
Hellenistic Glass Gem with Goddess
3rd-2nd century B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £333
Engraved with a goddess (Aphrodite?), facing right, peplos around her hips, her left elbow resting on a column and her left hand behind her body; the right hand outstretched and holding a sceptre; a snake(?) before. 2.52 grams, 22 mm
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Important North West London collection.
In the famous Greek myth of the Gorgon, Aphrodite, jealous of their beauty, placed a curse on Medusa and her sisters, transforming their hair into snakes and making their gaze turn anyone into stone. -
Very Large Greek Brindisi Type Terracotta Amphora
3rd-1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
The wide piriform bodied storage vessel with cylindrical neck, inverted rim, two round-section handles and conical knop to base. 12.45 kg, 75 cm high
Ex. H.P. Payot, Clarens (VD, Switzerland) collection, by inheritance. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11855-206531.