Etruscan Bronze Statue of a Satyr

Comprising: a broad shallow bowl with two loop handles curving up towards the rim, short stem and broad foot with chamfered outer edge; the bowl with reserved central disc to inner face, palmette motifs at the junctions of the handles, frieze depicting two standing nude males flanking a crouching sphinx in profile; restored and with old dealer's labels beneath base. 414 grams, 27.3 cm wide



Ex Prof. F.S., Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany, 1991. with Gallery Drees Archeo S.P.R.L., Brussels. Acquired from the above, 16 December 2017. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.S00041086. Accompanied by a Gallery Drees Archeo certificate of authenticity. Accompanied by a thermoluminescence report no.0102 0910 from Laboratory Ralf Kotalla, 6 September 2010. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12945-246388.

The present piece is a wide-bowled drinking cup known as a kylix - one of the most popular forms of pottery from the Achaean times (1600-1100 B.C.) through to the classical period (c.510-323 B.C.). It dates to an important moment in the development of Greek ceramics, just as the black-figure technique was being perfected by Athenian painters. Painted in black slip with details incised on top, kylikes usually had a frieze around the outside of the bowl as well as another scene on the tondo of the inside. The scene here represented can be linked with the well-known episode of Oedipus and the Sphinx.

Comprising an ellipsoid panel mounted on a conical socket; openwork lattice design with lozenge voids; socket with horse-head to one face, lateral lugs above the mouth. 570 grams, 24.6 cm



Private European collection, 1990s. 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.13278-254311.

Bronze pole tops, together with mirrors and horse trappings, were characteristic of Scythian art. Usually, Scythian warrior burials were accompanied by horses, the number of which corresponded to the status of the deceased (Galanina, 1997, p.54, fig.16). In the famous Chrertomlyk barrow, together with a deposit of 250 bridles, several openwork pole-tops were found, with figures of animals and birds, which could have been mounts for the harness or top of standards. However, they could also have been the upper part of staff poles decorating funeral wagons. Pole tops are one of the most significant objects used by the Scythians, and formed part of the ritual furnishings.

Including pomegranates, apples and a gourd. 989 grams total, 4.5-18.7 cm



Estate of Mr Bruno Fellinger (1926-2016), Küsnacht, Switzerland. with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland.