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LOT 0102
Etruscan Bronze Votive Figure of Genius Sacrificulus
6TH-5TH CENTURY B.C.
4 3/4 in. (5 1/4 in.) (189 grams, 12.1 cm (367 grams total, 13.4 cm high including)).
Depicting a ‘genius’ making a sacrifice, his head surrounded by a radiate crown or a wreath of laurel leaves arranged in rays; bare-chested with a cloak (tebenna) falling over his left shoulder, covering his back and resting on his left arm, enveloping his legs to below the knee; holding a patera in his right hand and an acerra in his left; accompanied by a display stand.
ProvenanceAnne Betgoner, Paris, by descent.
French private collection, acquired in the early 20th century.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Private collection, UK.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.13235-251199.
Cf. Cook, B.F., ‘Two Etruscan Bronze Statuettes’ in The Metropolitan Museum of Art Journal, volume 1, 1968, pp. 167-170, fig.4-6, for a comparable example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
FootnotesThe figure represents a genius dressed as a priest according to the Etruscan tradition. He is celebrating a sacrifice by offering to the gods with a patera of precious liquids and perfumes, kept in the acerra or pyxis. Acerra was the name given to the casket in which the incense intended for sacrifices was placed (arcula turalis). A servant carried it to the altar, and the granules from the casket were scattered on the flames (acerra libare).
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Greek Terracotta Artefact Collection
Circa 5th-3rd century B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £39
Including terracotta statue heads, amphora handle with old inked inscription on label to verso, which reads: 'AMPHORA HANDLE / PICKED UP ON SEA / BED OFF EAST SIDE / PARAMALI POINT, CYPRUS / 31 AUGUST 1968.' and other items. 739 grams total, 5.1-13 cm
From a late Hampshire gentleman's collection, formed from the 1960s.
One of the terracotta heads belongs to a votive statue, which by its shape seems to belong to Demeter or to the priestess of the Mother Goddess venerated in the Sanctuary of Arsos (Cyprus). The other one, also votive, showing a high headgear, represents most probably a Phoenician divinity, or a Levantine head of a priest. -
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Eastern Greek Marble Figure of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,200
Carved in the round figure of the goddess standing nude with one hand raised and the other on her pudendum, her hair gathered into a chignon with lateral bunches on the crown and with voids to allow for the suspension of small gold earrings; putto at her left knee; left hand partly absent; remounted on a socle base. 1.2 kg, 32.7 cm
Acquired in the 1992. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12860-241669.
Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, was one of the most widely worshipped deities in the ancient world, particularly across the eastern Greek regions of Asia Minor. In these areas, her image often blended traditional Greek ideals with local influences, giving rise to distinctive regional styles. Marble figures such as this would have served not only as works of art but also as expressions of devotion, reflecting both personal piety and broader cultural values surrounding beauty, fertility, and desire. The enduring popularity of Aphrodite’s image speaks to her central role in daily life, where she was invoked not just in matters of love, but also in marriage, prosperity, and well-being. -
Phoenicio-Punic Terracotta Oil Lamp
Circa 3rd-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
A triangular body with a narrow spout and two filler holes at the sides. 75 grams, 86.6 mm
From the private collection of Mr Brian Edwards, New Malden, Surrey, UK, formed from the late 1970s-early 1980s; thence by descent. Accompanied by a collector's data information card with collection reference no.119.
