Greek Carnelian Onyx Gemstone with Horseman

Comprising the upper two thirds of the vessel; on the shoulder a facing woman's head with diadem and half-veiled face; rosettes to left and right, with suspended ribbons and dots; vine motif around the body with floral ornaments; to the reverse, palmettes and vines; band of laurel with rosettes around the neck and wavy band at the mouth; reassembled from various fragments with three large areas of restoration, only the beginnings of the handles preserved; mounted on a custom-made stand. 1.95 kg, 31 cm (2.6 kg total, 47.5 cm high including stand)



Ex Herbert A. Cahn, Basel, 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12475-228738.

The face-veiling gesture is a known marriage rite; the diadem may suggest that she is intended to represent Persephone. Alternatively, the veiled woman might be a dancer as many terracotta figurines of dancing women are shown with face-coverings. However, the floral ornaments could indicate a funeral or sepulchral context.

Four-sided bead with an oval panel on each side: panel 1: reclining feline with frontal head with apotropaic eyes; panel 2: three-leaved plant opposite a goblet(?) with four pellets and two crosses; panel 3: a plant and a big frontal apotropaic eye; panel 4: three segments, a plant, a butterfly or a bird; accompanied by museum-quality impressions. 4.21 grams, 21 mm



From the collection of the late Mr Priday, Hertfordshire, UK, thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13339-258812.

Four-sided prisms are usually fashioned in jasper, light-coloured chalcedony and lightly banded carnelian. The workmanship is usually excellent. Largely on stylistic grounds, these seals are datable mostly to MMII (c. 2100–1875 B.C.), although they occur both slightly earlier and later.

Modelled in the round nude male standing with hands bound behind his back; with short cropped hair and slender figure; left foot absent; mounted on a custom-made stand. 491 grams, 17 cm including stand



Ex S.K. collection. Acquired on the German art market, July 1995. 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 a search certificate number no.12518-232076.

The character's hairstyle of the statuette is simple, and his hair is short, not treated with chalk like that of the famous ‘dying Galatian’ from Pergamon. The gaze is fixed on the distance, while the bony, beardless, long-limbed figure conveys the prisoner's energy. The nose here takes on a strong characteristic together with the broad jaw, which is also recognisable in later statuettes of Roman age. These characteristics, combined with those of nudity, allow us to recognise the figure of the prisoner as a Celtic warrior.