Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0100
Etruscan Votive Bronze Hand
CIRCA 7TH-6TH CENTURY B.C.
4 5/8 in. (187 grams total, 11.8 cm high including stand).
Modelled in the half-round with D-section fingers, portion of cuff behind the thumb; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
Provenance
Acquired on the German art market, before 1992; thence by descent.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13191-249245.
Literature
Cf. a similar votive hand in Christie's, Antiquities: Including Ancient Engraved Gems. Formerly in the G.Sangiorgi Collection Part IV, London, 2022, 7th December, lot.33.
Footnotes
Votive offerings gained increasing popularity throughout Etruria, southern Latium and later northern Campania from the 7th century B.C. onwards. Most gods were thought to possess the power to heal, and the sick flocked to their sanctuaries for a cure or to pray for future health. Usually, these dedications depicted the parts of the human anatomy that needed healing. The area of Vulci offered many graves in which pairs of hands cut from a sheet of bronze, rolled up at the base to form the wrist, have been found.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
Greek Silver-Gilt Bull Ring
Circa 6th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Annular in form with plaque formed as a parcel-gilt bucranium with solar motif to the brow. 11.25 grams, 27.39 mm overall, 19.38 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P 1/2, USA 7 3/4, Europe 16.86, Japan 16)
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Greek Solid Gold Ring Idol
5th-4th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
Annular in form with pierced tab. 1.65 grams, 20 mm
Private collection, acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s; thence by descent.
During the Greek Neolithic, certain types of ornaments share common morphological characteristics; one such example is the so-called ‘ring-idols’. The prototype of these ring-shaped pendants seems to have been made out of gold, which began to be used during these late phases of the Neolithic in Greece and the Balkans, in general. -
Large Greek Red-Figure Skyphos with Owl
South Italian, 5th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,600
With mammiform body, pedestal base and two loop handles; each side with a facing image of an owl between laurel fronds. 239 grams, 17.5 cm
Swiss private collection, assembled in the 1960s-1970s. Private collection, acquired in 2013. Accompanied by a thermoluminescence analysis report no.N126a14 from Oxford Authentication. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12854-241751.
Bubo was the holy beloved magical owl of the goddess Athena, and it was a common subject on Greek painted ceramics. The owl-skyphos, originally produced in 5th century Athens, was extremely popular and was exported from Athens to other parts of the Greek world, including southern Italy and Etruria. Local imitations have been excavated at Corinth, and during the fourth century, or perhaps even slightly earlier, skyphoi similar to those from Athens were produced in Apulia and Etruria.
