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LOT 0059
Greek Gilt Bronze Wine Strainer with Swan-Head Handles
4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
7 3/4 in. (402 grams total, 19.7 cm including stand).
Comprising a shallow bowl and broad flange rim, two integral scalloped handles with lateral scrolled flourishes, each tapering to a S-curved handle with swan-head terminals with incised eye and beak detailing; perforated whirl within roundel to interior base; accompanied by a custom-made display stand with mirror.
Provenancewith Hôtel des ventes de Belfort Sarl, October 2011, no.16.
Acquired by the present owner at the above sale.
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.12209-222140.
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.
Cf. Reeder, Ellen D., Hellenistic Art in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, 1988, p.125, no.130, for similar examples and a general discussion of type; A Passion for Antiquities, Ancient Art from the collection of Barbera and Lawrence Fleischman, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, 1994, pp.77-78, no.31D; and The Search for Alexander, exhibition catalogue, 1980, p.167, no.130; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1972.118.88, for a group containing a strainer with similar looped handle and bird head terminal; a similar specimen in the Walters Art Museum, accession number 57.910; a similar example in shape and quality can be seen in the ‘Tomb of the Prince’, in Pella, cf. Touratsoglou, I., Macedonia, History, Monuments, Museums, Athens, 1996, p.240, fig.312.
FootnotesElaborate gilded strainers, such as this present example, were used at symposia and festive occasions for the purpose of preventing the dregs of wine from entering the wine cup. This and other related silver utensils became popular in the later 4th and 3rd century B.C. These highly decorated wine strainers were fitted with dual handles forming loops in the shape of twisting animals, here a swan. Usually they took the form of a shallow dish complete with four rings of perforations in the centre in order to drain the wine. Strainers of this type were used to separate out sediments which could be found in the thick Greek wine. Examples similar to this one have been found in royal tombs in northern Greece, as well as the tomb of a monarch in Sudan.
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LOT 0059
Greek Gilt Bronze Wine Strainer with Swan-Head Handles
Estimate £8,000 - 10,000€9,280 - 11,600 (for guidance only)$10,800 - 13,500 (for guidance only)
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Greek Attic Black-Glazed Squat Lekythos
400-350 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £494
Of ovoid form with trumpet-shaped spout and strap handle, reserved palmette motif; with record card 'Squat pattern Lekythos. Attic? Palmette in red on black glaze. 400-350 B.C. / 22. (22.11.84) Charles Ede. H 10.0 Di 5.4 B 4.1 cm.'. 69 grams, 10 cm
with Sotheby's, London, 7 July, no.376. with Charles Ede Ltd, 12 November 1984. The collection of the late Sir Clinton Charles Donald Cory (1937-2022), 5th Baronet of Coryton. Private collection, UK. Accompanied by an old handwritten collector's ticket. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Sir Clinton Charles Donald Cory was a lifelong connoisseur with a deep appreciation for objets d’art and antiquities, particularly Attic pottery and numismatics. He took great pleasure in meticulously cataloguing and archiving his collection. The selection of pottery, glass, and stone fragments will be presented across twenty-four lots, many of which boast provenance from renowned dealerships and auction houses, including Charles Ede, Sotheby’s, and Bonhams. -
Greek Miniature Bronze Beaked Jug
Macedonia, 7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
With integral strap handle and disc foot, carination to the equator, broad pouring lip. 14 grams, 26 mm
Ex Herbert A. Cahn, Basel, 1990s. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00072882. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. -
Greek Silver Fibula
5th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Comprising a thick round-section bow tapering to each end; the forward end developing to a two-coiled spring and pin, the rear to a rectangular catchplate with flanges to the upper and lower edges, a long spike finial; the catch with incised geometric ornament. 10.7 grams, 83 mm
with H.A.C., Basel, prior 1999. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
