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LOT 0103
Etruscan Bronze Lion Head
CENTRAL ITALY, LATE 6TH CENTURY B.C.
6 7/8 in. (1.11 kg total, 17.5 cm including stand).
A decorative fitting with roaring mouth and protruding fangs and tongue, the whiskers depicted in raised radiating ridges, with lidded, elongated almond-shaped eyes and small, round ears; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
Provenancewith Christie’s, New York, 8 June 2001, no.58.
Donati collection, Lugano, prior to 1982.
Collection of Banca della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, prior to 1986.
Formerly in the Bourgknecht collection, Switzerland.
Accompanied by Art Loss certificate no.S00123227.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.13230-249992.
Testimonianze d’arte Etrusca in collezioni private Ticinesi, collection of Banca della Svizzera Italiana, 1986, p.31, no.7.2, illus.
LiteratureCf. Curtis, D., 'The Barberini Tomb' in Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, 1925, Vol. 5 (1925), pp. 9-52, pl.30, for a similar head of a lion; Canciani, F. and Von Hase, F.W., La tomba Bernardini di Palestrina, Rome, 1979, p.56, no.67; p.57, no.69, for parallels; Jucker, I., Italy of the Etruscans, The Israel Museum in Jerusalem, pp.290-291, no.387, for a head of a lion.
FootnotesThis head was probably, as was the parallel head of the Barberini Tomb, originally attached to a magnificent bronze cauldron. These large cauldrons of hammered bronze were realised with the heads and necks of two lions and two gryphons attached to the rim. The cauldrons were spherical in form and rested on a stand.
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LOT 0103
Etruscan Bronze Lion Head
Estimate £7,000 - 9,000€8,120 - 10,440 (for guidance only)$9,450 - 12,150 (for guidance only)
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Scythian Gold Ibex Plaque Pair
Circa 7th century B.C.Estimate: £7,000 - 9,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £3,500
Each a profile ibex with head reversed, horn returned to attach at the neck, pellet eye, beaded ring-and-dot motif to the shoulder and hip; thick attachment loop to the reverse. 15.6 grams total, 34-34.2 mm
Acquired in the 1980s. Private collection, London, UK. 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.13253-252971.
It is possible to hypothesise that these two elements were bridle plaques, like the two wolf-shaped bridle plaques, in a similar position and style, found in the Kurgan of Pazyrik (Piotrowskij, 1987, p.107, no.137). Belt plaques with zoomorphic motifs illustrate not only the recognised unity of the zoomorphic art of the Steppes, but also the links between the Scythians and the eastern nomadic groups. -
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Circa 4th-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Comprising a slender round-section hoop and an oval bezel. 2.53 grams, 25.76 mm overall, 19.02x21.72 mm internal diameter (approximate size British T 1/2, USA 9 3/4, Europe 21.89, Japan 21)
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
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Comprising a large convex bow decorated with deep grooves, and a fragment of a convex footplate, likely from the same brooch. 80.2 grams total, 88.7-95.5 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.