Greek High-Glazed Cup with Handles

With an arching strap handle and a wide spout; either side of the body painted with a crouching panther, one playing with a ball and the other depicted facing; repaired. 149 grams, 12 cm



Acquired from Gallery Gryphos, Munich, 1992. European private collection. 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.12001-211879.

Painted askoi in different forms were produced and been in use in Athens since the middle and second quarter of the 5th century B.C., but they were also made in southern Italy. The askoi painted with a pair of animal figures were realised in Magna Graecia after the Attic continental production of similar models, with the representation of griffins, sphinxes and laconic hounds. The function of the askos as a vessel was clearly linked to wine, and therefore it is not anomalous to see it decorated with panther motifs, an animal connected with Dionysus, the god of wine and drinking.

Including fragments of storage vessel, bowl and other items, some with handle and rim elements. 5.35 kg total, 1.4-27 cm



From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

Female head moulded with a segmented conical cap, pierced ears visible beneath; the head slightly turned and tilted downwards on a slender neck. 22 grams, 49 mm



Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.