Greek Bronze Ring with Bird

In an active pose with both legs bent and left arm raised dramatically, head tilted to the left; exaggerated facial features, short trimmed hair, slim body with developed pectoral muscles and pronounced kyphosis; mounted on a columnar stand. 295 grams total, 15 cm high imcluding stand



Belgian private art collection of M.A., Brussels, Belgium, 1995. with Gorny and Mosch, 14 December 2011, no.82. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13330-258951.

Such figures are often described as ‘grotesques’, yet typically constituted overstated representations of people with dwarfism. Such individuals are invariably shown with exaggerated features such as pot bellies, hunched backs, bald heads, large phalli and angry facial expressions.

Columnar bead with sheet-gold cap to each end, each with beaded circlets and applied granule clusters, domed end with loop; possibly assembled. 17.44 grams, 60 mm



Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.

The very elaborate versions of earrings with large domes and pendants composed of clusters of hollow spheres and granulation are most typically Romano-Syrian, but they begin to be produced in the Late Hellenistic Age. They were diffused in the Levant, Egypt and on the frontier area between the Roman and the Arsacid Empire.

Modelled in the round in energetic pose with left hand resting on the hip and right arm raised, head tilted slightly upwards, tail curled gracefully over the rump; on a square base with papyrus stalk detailing; on a later gilt-metal stand mounted on a polished stone cube. 679 grams total, 20.4 cm including stand



Iris Cornelia Love (1933–2020), New York, collection primarily formed in the 1950s-1970s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13335-258241.

Many of the scenes show satyrs in Etruscan art transgressing the limits of accepted behaviour. As symbol of inversion of order, the satyr reflects the rules of the life and culture of the Etruscans and their values. Satyrs in comic, surprising situations indicate the Etruscans' sense of humour. They got their inspiration from Greek art when illustrating myths and narratives, often with a light-hearted approach of their own. The Etruscans were known to be devoted to religious rites and satyrs appear in such scenes too. Satyrs, connected with the Dionysian cortege, appear also on vases in sacrifice scenes and it is suggested here that satyrs dancing and gambolling around a wine vessel are performing a cultic dance in honour of Dionysos.