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LOT 0064
Greek Bronze Handle with Lion-Skin Head
CIRCA 5TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
3 1/8 in. (159 grams, 80 mm).
Formed as the skinned head and forepaws of a lion, together with two lateral handles with fastening holes surmounted by a pearled edge.
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK art market 2000s.
LiteratureCf. Furtwängler, A., Olympia. Die Ergebnisse der von dem Deutschen Reich veranstalteten Ausgrabung Band 4. 2 Bände (Textband, Tafelband), Asher, Berlin, 1890, pl.TLV, nos.923-924, for similar handles.
FootnotesThe handle appears to be a device once attached to a wine vessel or pan-like vessels. The vessel handles were usually formed as divinities or animals linked with gods (ie. lions for Herakles). The lion's skin is hanging down as in representations of Herakles resting and drinking after his labours.
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AUCTIONS:
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Greek Bronze Tiered Cup
Circa 4th-3rd century B.C.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £75
Comprising a shallow carinated body with flared rim. 171 grams, 14.2 cm wide
Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection. -
Greek Bronze Situla
5th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £520
Tall vessel with dished underside, elegant carination at the shoulder, rolled rim; lateral vertical seams each covered by an applied rivetted strip, with remains of handle below the shoulder. 1.56 kg, 26 cm high
Ex Axel Guttmann Collection of Ancient Arms and Armour, Germany [1944-2001], AG 490. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11953-210857. -
Greek Terracotta Protome Mask
Late 6th-early 5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Modelled as a female head with rounded oval face, slightly bulging eyes and pronounced chin, indistinct smiling mouth with thin lips, outline of ears; low straight polos with fastening hole. 133 grams, 10.5 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
The figure belongs to a common type known from mainland Greece and the islands. The head clearly shows the so-called 'Archaic smile' visible on the dedicatory protomes of the same typology. They were terracotta votive offerings attached with a nail to the shrine of a goddess for ex-voto or to receive the grace of the represented goddess (Demeter?).
