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LOT 0086
Greek Bronze Wine Strainer with Swan-Head Handles
4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
7 3/4 in. (402 grams total, 19.7 cm including stand).
Comprising a shallow bowl and broad flange rim, two integral scalloped handles with lateral scrolled flourishes, each tapering to a S-curved handle with swan-head terminals with incised eye and beak detailing; perforated whirl within roundel to interior base; accompanied by a custom-made display stand with mirror.
Provenancewith Hôtel des ventes de Belfort Sarl, October 2011, no.16.
Acquired by the present owner at the above sale.
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.12209-222140.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Reeder, Ellen D., Hellenistic Art in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, 1988, p.125, no.130, for similar examples and a general discussion of type; A Passion for Antiquities, Ancient Art from the collection of Barbera and Lawrence Fleischman, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1994, pp.77-78, no.31D; and The Search for Alexander, exhibition catalogue, 1980, p.167, no.130; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1972.118.88, for a group containing a strainer with similar looped handle and bird head terminal; a similar specimen in the Walters Art Museum, accession number 57.910; a similar example in shape and quality can be seen in the ‘Tomb of the Prince’, in Pella, cf. Touratsoglou, I., Macedonia, History, Monuments, Museums, Athens, 1996, p.240, fig.312.
FootnotesElaborate gilded strainers, such as this present example, were used at symposia and festive occasions for the purpose of preventing the dregs of wine from entering the wine cup. This and other related silver utensils became popular in the later 4th and 3rd century B.C. These highly decorated wine strainers were fitted with dual handles forming loops in the shape of twisting animals, here a swan. Usually they took the form of a shallow dish complete with four rings of perforations in the centre in order to drain the wine. Strainers of this type were used to separate out sediments which could be found in the thick Greek wine. Examples similar to this one have been found in royal tombs in northern Greece, as well as the tomb of a monarch in Sudan.
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LOT 0086
Greek Bronze Wine Strainer with Swan-Head Handles
Estimate £7,000 - 9,000€8,120 - 10,440 (for guidance only)$9,450 - 12,150 (for guidance only)
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Hellenistic Gold Herakles Club Pendant
2nd-1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Formed as a tapering club with applied granule decoration, applied sphere with granulation at the top of the club, suspension loop at the handle end. 2.01 grams, 32 mm
From the collection of a late Japanese collector, 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Greek Apulian Red-Figure Lekanis with Ladies of Fashion
South Italic, circa 4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
With black-glazed body and matching lid decorated with two heads of ladies of fashion, palmettes between, radial lines on the knob handle and a wave-band around the rim; square strap handles at the shoulder. 249 grams, 16.5 cm wide
From the private collection of a Canadian gentleman living in Essex, UK, formed since the 1920s-circa 1990. Property of an Essex lady until the late 1990s; thence by descent. From the private collection of an Essex gentleman since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Attic Pottery Collection
4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Each showing various decorative motifs including one with the winged figure of Eos, and other images of torsos of men and women. 53 grams total, 26-76 mm
From a deceased estate, UK. Acquired on the UK art market. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
These fragments show the indebtedness or South Italian vase-makers to their colleagues in mainland Greece, which later developed into one of the most dominant shapes in Apulian red-figure while, at the same time, in Athens, these subjects became less popular by 380 B.C.
