Greek Geometric Pin with Horse Terminal

Tall vessel with narrow base and loop handles to the shoulder, strap handle to the rear; reserved figural scene of a horse in profile with handler and rider behind. 515 grams, 18.6 cm



Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990, thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12047-211885. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

With flared mouth, wide neck, bulbous body and ring foot, painted in brown and red matte glaze; geometric pattern spread over several registers separated by bundles of encircling stripes, triangles with hatching inside them, neck with metopes containing swastikas, rosettes and rhombuses with a band of rhombuses beneath; the shoulder with five line friezes arranged one above the other; the body decorated with meander and a band of rhombuses and triangles with hatching below, a broad black stripe (in places reddish as a result of misfiring) to the lower part; transition to the ring foot and ring foot painted black; wide strap handle attached to the shoulder and painted on the outside with a wavy line framed by dots, edge stripes and three small stars, the connecting bar patterned with stripes; museum-quality restoration. 2.04 kg, 35.5 cm



Ex Madame P., Paris. 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.12460-228686. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Vessels of the Geometric period (900-700 BCE) are easily recognisable by their abstract decorative designs, which had their origin in woven textiles and baskets. While early period pottery typically has sparse geometric motifs on a black background, the amount of the decoration increased progressively to the point that objects from the late Geometric period are often entirely covered - in this example, even the strap handle.

Modelled in three-quarter view, limestone face of a youth with almond-shaped eyes with broad upper lids under a flat brow; eyeballs contoured by a fine outer groove and lips with the 'archaic' smile; rosette wreath over spiral-shaped, voluminous curls framing the forehead; the surface abraded and some curls lost; reverse trimmed and smoothed at an angle; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 958 grams total, 24.6 cm including stand



Jean-Louis Debauve (1926-2016). with Jean Renaud Geoffroy & Yves Becquet Auction, Paris, 16 November 2018, no.225. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

The head probably originally belonged to one of the votive statuettes, mostly hewn from limestone, which are frequently documented for the Cypriot region at this period.