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LOT 0082
Greek Campanian Black-Glazed Kernos
LATE 4TH CENTURY B.C.
6 1/4 in. (623 grams, 16 cm high).
Comprising a round pedestal supporting four small offering pots, interspersed with four female face protomes; looped handle to the centre with parallel strokes in low-relief.
ProvenanceFrom the West German collection of H.W.
Acquired from the De Mynter, Belgium, in 2011.
with Gorny and Mosch, Munich, 3 June 2017, no.52.
Private Portuguese R.M. collection.
Accompanied by a previous catalogue information slip.
Cf. Miše, M., Gnathia and related Hellenistic Ware on the East Adriatic Coast, Oxford, 2015, fig.5, p.45, for similar.
FootnotesThe kernos can be recognised by a series of small cups on the lip, with examples dating back to the Bronze Age. It was used to store offerings made to the gods, specifically in cults pertaining to Demeter and Persephone. The receptacles probably contained foodstuffs, or perhaps flowers, and a lamp was sometimes placed in the centre. Kernoses, such as this, were often carried in processions at the Eleusinian Mysteries (secret initiation rites celebrating the goddesses Demeter and Persephone) and were an important object for Greek religious life. Kernoses are thus closely related to the agrarian cult and to the myth of Persephone and Demeter, the goddess of fertility and agriculture. The myth is recounted on an Homeric Hymn (c. 650 B.C.) according to which Persephone, Demeter’s daughter, was seized by Hades, the king of the underworld, who brought her to his kingdom to make her his wife. Distraught, Demeter caused a terrible drought, which continued until Persephone returned to her mother from the underworld. Having consumed pomegranate seeds whilst she was in the Underworld, she was only able to be with her for a few months of the year.
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LOT 0082
Greek Campanian Black-Glazed Kernos
Estimate £1,500 - 2,000€1,740 - 2,320 (for guidance only)$2,030 - 2,700 (for guidance only)
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Greek Terracotta Shipwreck Amphora
5th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,470
Slender in profile with narrow shoulder, short neck, collar to the mouth and two lateral strap handles; stepped conical point to base; part of neck absent, marine encrustation. 5.45 kg, 65 cm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. -
Cypro-Archaic Standing Limestone Male Scribe
Circa 4th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Modelled in the half-round, standing nude male with mantle to the shoulders, clutching a codex in the right hand; with carefully dressed hair and diadem; D-shaped base. 536 grams, 27 cm
Acquired Bonhams, London, UK. From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. -
Greek Bronze Mirror with Eros and Aphrodite
Late Classic-early Hellenistic Period, mid-late 4th century B.C.Estimate: £12,000 - 17,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £6,000
A circular box mirror comprising: a lid featuring a hammered sheet repoussé appliqué of Eros and Aphrodite, god and goddess of love, standing on either side of a thymiaterion, or censer associated with religious worship and ritual; Eros with wings outstretched, left hand supporting the top tier of the censer, right hand lowered to his side holding a wreath(?); much delicate incised detailing to his wings indicating a feathered texture; Aphrodite standing to the right, wearing a floor-length woollen tunic or chiton, a pleated himation around her waist and draped over her left arm; right hand held above the top tier of the censer; the scene is framed within an incised circular roundel; the interior of the lid, and the base including its flange, featuring a series of lathe-turned concentric circular mouldings; both halves mounted on a cleverly designed custom-made stand, which reproduces the human act of lifting the lid off the mirror base; museum-quality. 1.17 kg total, 15 cm
Private collection, London, 1975. with Christie's, Rockefeller Plaza, New York, 9 June 2011, no.109. Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Christie's catalogue pages. Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Kallos Gallery catalogue pages where the mirror is published. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12054-213612.
Handleless mirrors were luxury items that began to be produced in the second half of the 5th century B.C. Themes surrounding Aphrodite were very popular at this time. During the 4th century B.C. Eros was commonly depicted as a slim youth approaching manhood rather than as a child, as he is shown here on our example. Eros and Aphrodite are the two Greek deities most famously believed to induce desire.
