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_900x900.jpg "Etruscan Votive Bronze Hand")
_200x200.jpg "Etruscan Votive Bronze Hand")
.jpg "Etruscan Votive Bronze Hand")
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.
ProvenanceAcquired 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.
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.
FootnotesVotive 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.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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Greek Silver Earring Pair
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Matched pair of ribbed crescents with loops. 22.5 grams total, 27-29 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
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Greek Gold and Bead Drop Earrings
Hellenistic, 2nd-1st century B.C.Estimate: £8,000 - 10,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £4,000
Matched pair of hooked wire earrings, each with an inset cabochon, articulated dangles and other ornaments. 5.15 grams total, 46 mm each
Private American collection, 1970s-1980s. with Robert Haber, New York, USA, circa 1990s. Private collection, Europe. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, 8 September 2004. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13187-249264.
This pair belongs to the Hellenistic group of earrings with pendants, a broad group including pendants shaped as amphorae, birds, erotes and other exotic elements. Most of them come from sites around the Aegean or the Eastern Mediterranean and were probably produced in workshops in these regions. They usually date from the 2nd to the 1st centuries B.C. -
Greek Black-Figure Miniature Amphora with Swan
Attic, 6th-5th century B.C.Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,000
With two handles and an everted rim; parallel, vertical strokes on the neck and below a swan with its wings open and neck elegantly curved, a staff on the background. 57.1 grams, 76 mm
Swiss private collection, assembled in the 1960s and 1970s. Acquired by the present owner in 2004. 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 a search certificate number no.13019-246754.
The swan was a favoured motif in Greek art, admired for its elegance and associations with divinity and beauty. In mythology, the bird was sacred to Apollo, god of music and light, whose chariot was said to be drawn by swans on his annual journey to the land of the Hyperboreans. It was likewise linked to Aphrodite, symbolising love and sensuality, and appears in scenes celebrating harmony and the ideal of beauty. The swan also featured prominently in the myth of Leda and the Swan, in which Zeus, transformed into the bird, inspired numerous representations across Greek art.
