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LOT 0102
Gold Necklace with Agate Pendant
1ST CENTURY B.C.-2ND CENTURY A.D.
19 in. (26.19 grams, 48 cm long).
A Graeco-Roman or Phoenician chain of loop-in-loop links and thick suspension ring, gold dome with bands of applied granules capping an egg-shaped banded agate drop.
ProvenanceAcquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s.
Important North West London collection.
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 no.11935-210477.
Cf. Marshall, F.H., Catalogue of the Jewellery, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, in the Department of Antiquities, British Museum, London, 1911, pls.LIX (no.2727), LX (2736), LXI (2738), for the same style of chain rings.
FootnotesAgate was appreciated in the Greek and Roman world for its magical virtues. A recently found agate gemstone from Imperial-era Anapa, which differs from the other similar agate stones in its spherical shape and large size, was inscribed with a text referring to traditional Greek expulsion rituals against evil and diseases, ending with a list of human head parts similar to the one found in the Hippocratic medical handbook. The gemstone was probably worn not only as an amulet, but also as a miniature handbook with instructions for making amulets. According to Pliny the Elder (NH, XXXVII, 47) a certain type of agate was protected against spiders and scorpions.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0102
Gold Necklace with Agate Pendant
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000€17,400 - 23,200 (for guidance only)$20,250 - 27,000 (for guidance only)
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Greek Red-Figure Hydria with Combat Scene Between Amazons and Greek or Trojan Heroes
4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
The vessel with integral round-section upward-facing handles, a third, round-section handle placed vertically between shoulder and upper neck to rear; laurel sprigs to the neck with traces of gilding; combat scene with Amazons (and Trojans?) below, armed with short swords and crescent shields, most wearing an exomis leaving the shoulder and one breast uncovered; volute palmettes below both side-handles, a panel of tiered and swirling volutes to the rear, all on a band of egg-moulding, repeated around the rim; possibly Apulian or Campanian; restored. 3 kg, 46 cm high
Ex collection Woodyat, Rome, Italy, 1912. with Vente Genève, 24 & 25 June 1960. Private European collection. 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.11581-199028.
The mythological topic of this hydria is fascinating, representing a fight between Amazons and Greek or Trojan heroes (suggested by the central cavalryman wearing a Phrygian cap). During this period, Amazons were no longer represented as Persian or Scythian warriors, as in Attic red-figure ceramics, but depicted as athletic parthenoi and wearing chitons. Rather than oriental costume and armour, the Amazons wear a short exomis with a bare shoulder and breast (Patten, 2013, PI.VI, I, VI,2, 2 and 3). -
Greek Black Glazed Dish
4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
With tiered foot, thick rim and ribbed upper face; old collector's ticket number '206'. 325 grams, 16 cm wide
From the collection of Louis-Gabriel Bellon (1819-1899), Saint-Nicolas-lez-Arras and Rouen, thence by descent. with Millon & Associes Auctions, Paris, 6th December 2021, lot 29. -
Greek Zoomorphic Bronze Hydria Handle Attachment
Circa 5th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
Modelled as a skinned lion's head with fierce facial detailing; made for soldering to an articulated round handle. 98 grams, 51 mm high
Private collection, Germany, 1980s. Acquired on the UK art market 2010.
The handles were usually shaped as divinities or animals linked with gods (ie. lions for Herakles). A similar specimen can be seen in the Berlin Museum (inv.7491), from Athens.