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LOT 0114
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.
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 late 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 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 0114
Greek Bronze Wine Strainer with Swan-Head Handles
Estimate £10,000 - 14,000€11,600 - 16,240 (for guidance only)$13,500 - 18,900 (for guidance only)
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Large Greek Red-Figure Pelike with Nike
Apulian, 3rd-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
Comprising a pedestal base, mastoid body, lateral strap handles and funicular neck, broad mouth with stepped rim; the neck decorated with a band of egg-and-dart; palmette below each handle, flanked by tendrils and flowers; Side A: naked Eros (Cupid), hair in a bun and tied with a cloth, right arm outstretched and holding a flower by the stem, left hand holding leaves and tendrils; Side B: Nike standing in himation and stephane, holding up a drum-shaped object and supporting leaves and tendril, flower patterns to the background. 1.19 kg, 26 cm high
Acquired on the art market between the late 1990s and mid-2000s. Estate of the late Barry Paul Buxton (1944–2024), Oakham, Rutland. Acquired on the UK art market, 2025. Accompanied by a thermoluminescence analysis report no.N126a15 from Oxford Authentication. 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.13089-248952.
The Greek term pelike (pl. pelikai) was used for a number of shapes, and it is not certain what this one-piece vessel with a distinctive sagging belly was called in antiquity. It seems to have been invented after the introduction of the red-figure technique, although there are examples in black-figure. It continued to be produced into the 4th century and in the Roman period. It is shown in use as a container for liquids, especially wine, and in this context was linked with Bacchus, Pan, and Silenus. -
Greek Bronze Laconian Horse
5th-1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Protome formed as the upper body of a horse with forelegs bent and head turned; ribbed saddlecloth to the back; remains of attachment peg to underside. 27.8 grams, 49 mm
Acquired by a Swiss family in the mid-1980s to late 1990s, thence by descent. Private collection, Switzerland, since the late 1990s. -
Graeco-Roman Bronze Mirror
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Discoid flat-section body with a tongue-shaped, pierced handle. 150 grams, 13 cm
London, UK, art market, 1980s. Private collection, London, UK.
