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LOT 0611
Greek Hellenistic Terracotta Spindle Flask
4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
6 1/2 in. (155 grams, 16.5 cm).
With long narrow neck developing to a fusiform body and flared foot. [No Reserve]
ProvenancePrivate Derby, UK, antiquities collection.
From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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Greek Blackware Lekythos with Palm Fronds
Magna Graecia, circa 4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Cylindrical in profile with stepped foot, slender neck and flared mouth; radiating strokes to the shoulder, four blocks each of two palmettes with white painted detailing; strap handle to the rear. 104 grams, 13.5 cm
Property of a private Rutland, UK, collector, formed from at least from the 1990s. -
Greek Terracotta Protome Mask
Magna Graecia, early 5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Tongue-shaped in plan and hollow to the reverse; obverse with female bust in high-relief with palla head-covering. 75 grams, 10.3 cm
From an old Bath antiquities collection. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
Hellenistic Iridescent Pale Aqua Glass Bowl
Mid 2nd-early 1st century B.C.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Conical in profile, aqua glass with three incised bands below the rim on the inner face. 374 grams, 15.7 cm wide
Dr Jutaro Kawabe, Nagoya, Japan, his collection formed in the 1960s-1970s. with Hoshigaoka Gallery until the late 1990s. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12949-245243.
On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence—and desirability—of the piece.
