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LOT 0093
Greek Black-Figure Miniature Amphora with Swan
ATTIC, 6TH-5TH CENTURY B.C.
3 in. (57.1 grams, 76 mm).
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.
ProvenanceSwiss 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.
Cf. Barfoed, S., Cult in Context, The Ritual Significance of miniature pottery in ancient Greek Sanctuaries from the Archaic to the Hellenistic Period, II Volumes, Department of Classical and Archaeological Studies, Kent University, 2015, fig.39, for a votive black-figured miniature red vessel.
FootnotesThe 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.
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LOT 0093
Greek Black-Figure Miniature Amphora with Swan
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000€4,640 - 6,960 (for guidance only)$5,400 - 8,100 (for guidance only)
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Large Greek Bronze Ring with Seated Figure
Circa 4th-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Featuring a slender round-section hoop and a large lentoid bezel with a seated figure holding a staff. 3.41 grams, 25.02 mm overall, 15.70 x 20.51 mm internal diameter (approximate size British O, USA 7, Europe 14.98, Japan 14)
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Lydian Silver Ribbed Jug with Spout and Handle
Archaic, 6th century B.C.Estimate: £6,000 - 8,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £3,000
Comprising a squat body with a median band of vertical ribbing, a short neck with a broad flared rim, and a thickened outer rim, a flared foot; fluted strap handle and a U-section spout flared at the outer end. 211 grams, 14 cm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13266-253452.
This jug can plausibly be placed in the Lydian world of western Anatolia during the Archaic period, when Lydia stood at the crossroads of the Greek and Near Eastern worlds. Far from being culturally isolated, Lydia was deeply involved in the exchange of artistic forms, luxury materials, and metalworking traditions that moved across the eastern Mediterranean in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C. The attribution, therefore, suggests more than geography alone: it points to a wealthy and outward-looking culture in which prestige objects in precious metal carried both social and economic weight. Silver was especially important in this period. Before coinage became widespread, it functioned as a recognised store of value and circulated in weighed forms across the Mediterranean and Near East. In Lydia, its importance is sharpened by the region’s close association with the early history of coinage: ancient sources and modern scholarship alike connect the Lydians with the development of some of the earliest coined money, first in electrum and soon after in distinct gold and silver issues. A vessel such as this would therefore have been more than a practical object. Its material alone marked it as a possession of consequence, while its workmanship placed it firmly within the culture of elite display. -
Greek Bronze Horse Head Mount
Circa 4th-3rd century B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Modelled in the round with large almond-shaped eyes and pricked ears. 34.8 grams, 38 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
