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LOT 0048
Greek Gold Brooch with Portrait Gemstone
3RD-2ND CENTURY B.C. AND LATER
1 5/8 in. (9.55 grams, 41 mm).
A lozengiform gold brooch with bifurcated corners picked out in filigree, catchplate to reverse; central oval cell with filigree borders, set with a intaglio gemstone displaying a male bust facing left.
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1950s-1990s. Ex Mansees collection.
Ex private Chicago, USA, collection, 1995.
English private collection.
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AUCTIONS:
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Greek Silver Medical Implement with Snake Handle
4th-3rd century B.C.Estimate: £450 - 650 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
A silver and copper-alloy medical instrument, oval in shape, the handle formed as a snake with shallow hatched pattern on the body representing scales, stylised rendering of the snake's head. 68 grams, 25 cm long
Fair condition.
Acquired mid 1980s to early 1990s. Private family collection formed in London, UK. Accompanied by a metal test assessment number 182971/HM1456 from an Oxford specialist.
The use of this spatula (probe) for medical assessment can be confirmed by its snake-shaped handle, evidently a reference to the god Asklepios, whose symbol was a staff with a serpent wrapped around it. Such implements, called 'ἀπυρομήλη', were used in the Graeco-Persian world. The survival of the handle in this example makes it a rare find. -
Greek Silver Bow Brooch
6th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
A silver fibula with tapering pin and integral single-coil spring, curved bow, lateral catch and trumpet-shaped finial incised with an 'X'. 11 grams, 41 mm
Acquired before 2000. From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK. -
Greek Gold Bead Pair
5th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
A pair of spherical gold beads with filigree ornament: both with gold wire to the equator with granulated triangles above and below, one with scrolled S-motifs in each hemisphere and granules around each mouth; the other with striptwist V-motifs with coiled arms in each hemisphere and striptwist collars to both mouths; both hollow-formed. 3.16 grams total, 11 mm each
Acquired 1969-1999. London collection of the late Mr S.M., thence by descent.
