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LOT 0803
Greek Carnelian Gemstone with Head of Dionysos
2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.
1/2 in. (1.22 grams, 12 mm).
Plano-convex type with intaglio profile female bust wearing diadem and drop earrings; chipped; supplied with a museum-quality impression. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Gołyźniak, P., Engraved Gems from Tbilisi, Georgia, The Natsvlishvili Family Collection, Warsaw, 2022, nos.34-36, for similar carnelian gemstones with portraits from Hellenistic Age.
FootnotesThe subject derives from Hellenistic creations, which is indicated by the open mouth suggesting a state of ecstasy, prominent cheekbones, the head’s position and facial expression. Particular attention is given to the details of headgear and hair.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0803
Greek Carnelian Gemstone with Head of Dionysos
Estimate £300 - 400€350 - 460 (for guidance only)$410 - 540 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5 (EUR 6; USD 7) +BP*
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Large Daunian Olla with Flaring Mouth
5th century B.C.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £550
With squat body on a flat base, two short loop handles to the equator and two animal-head protomes; painted pendant circle segments above concentric circles to the interior of the mouth; shoulder and body decorated with metopes, horizontal bands and vertical lines of differing colour and width; rectangle and swastika motifs in the metopes; pendant hourglass motifs in the lowest band; the vessel reassembled and some fragments replaced; bichrome ware. 1.74 kg, 20.3 cm high
From the estate of Hans-Ulrich Rutschmann, Switzerland, circa 1950s-1970s. -
Graeco-Roman Agate Gemstone with Leaping Gryphon
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Plano-convex type with intaglio profile leaping gryphon with head raised; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.63 grams, 12 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
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Eastern Greek Parcel-Gilt Bowl with Inscription
Hellenistic, late 2nd-early 1st century B.C.Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,500
Broad and shallow with thick rolled rim; parcel-gilt band to the inner face below the rim of running scrolls on a pounced field; to the centre, a hexafoil reserved on a pounced field with border of running scrolls; pointillé cursive Aramaic inscription to the outer face. 413 grams, 20.6 cm wide
Private collection, London, 1990s or earlier. with Gorny & Mosch, 22 June 2007, no.37. with Christie's, New York, 5 December 2012, no.52. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Gorny & Mosch and Christie's catalogue pages. 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.13217-250131.
The bowl is related to a large group of Hellenistic silver vessels of similar shape, some with Aramaic inscriptions on the exterior beneath the rim, all thought to be of eastern origin, produced within the Seleucid Empire. Here, the Aramaic inscription, now mostly unreadable, reports the name of the maker and the weight of the bowl as 118 zuzim.
