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LOT 0556
Greek Bronze Bird Figure
8TH CENTURY B.C.
1 5/8 in. (21.9 grams, 42 mm).
Amuletic pendant formed as a perching bird with long neck and stub legs, loop to the back.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
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AUCTIONS:
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Greek Bronze Figure of a Bound Captive
Hellenistic, 2nd century B.C.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,667
Modelled in the round nude male standing with hands bound behind his back; with short cropped hair and slender figure; left foot absent; mounted on a custom-made stand. 491 grams, 17 cm including stand
Ex S.K. collection. Acquired on the German art market, July 1995. 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.12518-232076.
The character's hairstyle of the statuette is simple, and his hair is short, not treated with chalk like that of the famous ‘dying Galatian’ from Pergamon. The gaze is fixed in the distance, while the bony, beardless and long-limbed figure expresses the prisoner's energy. The nose here takes on a strong characteristic together with the broad jaw, which is also recognizable in later statuettes of Roman age. These characteristics, combined with those of nudity, allow us to recognize the figure of the prisoner as a Celtic warrior. warrior. -
Greek Terracotta Citharode
6th-4th century B.C.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
D-shaped in section with close-cut hairstyle, standing, holding a cithara supported on the left arm, strumming with the right hand. 62 grams, 86 mm
Ex Shlomo Moussaieff (1925-2015), Israel. European private collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13107-246791. -
Greek Gold Bead Collection
4th-3rd century B.C.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
A collection of necklace pendants and dress appliques comprising: a hollow bead with a truncated conical shape, featuring appliques for precious stone inserts; three studs with a hemispherical dome; a pair of appliques decorated with rosette and mask-shaped elements; a pendant in the form of a myrtle berry, and another fragment. 11.19 grams total, 10-31 mm
Acquired by a Swiss family in the mid-1980s to late 1990s, thence by descent. Private collection, Switzerland, 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.13023-246772.
The iconography of Hellenistic jewellery often incorporates vegetal motifs, reflecting the Greek value of fertility and a royal Greek female wearer’s obligation to produce heirs. With its heavy incorporation of plant motifs, including tendrils, blossoms, and a bursting pomegranate, the diadem design symbolises a woman’s reproductive potential and alludes to the female wearer’s social responsibility to produce offspring.
