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LOT 0073
Greek Carnelian Bead with Gold End Caps
HELLENISTIC, 1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.
2 3/8 in. (17.44 grams, 60 mm).
Columnar bead with sheet-gold cap to each end, each with beaded circlets and applied granule clusters, domed end with loop; possibly assembled.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Cf. a pair of gold disc and sphere-drop earrings of the Late Hellenistic Period in a similar style and decoration, in Ogden, J., Gold Jewellery in Ptolemaic, Roman and Byzantine Egypt, in two volumes, Volume 2 – figures, Durham, 1990, fig.268.
FootnotesThe 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.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Scaraboid type with incuse design to the underside of a winged hippocamp inside a ropework border, possibly later engraved water waves; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 2.29 grams 16 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Greek Iron Spectacle Brooch with Pin
Iron Age, circa 4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Formed as a single rod in two large tightly-wound coils with integral pin and catch to reverse. 48.3 grams, 10.8 cm
From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
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Greek Miniature Bronze Hydria
Geometric Period, 6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
With a bulbous body, flared foot, lateral loop handles to the shoulder and a strap handle to the rear. 23.5 grams, 37 mm
Acquired by a Swiss family in the mid-1980s to late 1990s, thence by descent. Private collection, Switzerland, since the late 1990s.
The earliest Archaic Greek bronze hydriai enter the archaeological record in the last quarter of the seventh century. Although the appearance of bronze marks the first significant period of production in the Iron Age, these vessels represent a reawakening of an illustrious tradition dating back at least to the Helladic Bronze Age, if not considerably earlier.
