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LOT 0607
Greek Inscribed Lead Slingshot
4TH CENTURY B.C.
1 1/4 in. (35.8 grams, 30 mm).
Biconical in profile with casting seam and reserved legend 'ΦΙΛ[.]VOC (PHILIPPOS)'. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market before 2000.
Private collection, Munich, Germany.
Cf. Manov, M., Torbov, N., 'Inscribed Lead Sling Bullets with the name of Alexander the Great and with other names and symbols found in Thrace' in Archaeologia Bulgarica, XX, 2, pp.29-43, figs.1ff, for similar.
FootnotesThe leaden bullets, thrown with slings, were called in Greek molivdainai (μολύβδαιναι), and in Latin glandes; the former indicating the material ‘lead’, the latter the shape ‘acorns’. These bullets were cast in a mould and bore letters or devices, or both, on two sides or only on one. In form, they were more like an almond than an acorn, but many are pointed at both ends.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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D-section hoop and angled shoulders, wide oval bezel with incised motif. 6.78 grams, 26.56 mm overall, 20.04 x 15.50 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M, USA 6, Europe 12.46, Japan 12)
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Large Apulian Red-Figure Pelike
Early 4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,150
Of Plain Style, comprising a broad mouth and neck with torus rim, vertical handles with central rib, bulbous body, stepped disc foot; laurel wreath on the neck and a meander pattern to the lower body; Side a) a youth wearing a himation and shoes, before him a woman carrying a basket and a fillet, wearing a sleeveless chiton, himation, and a sphendone (a fillet decorated by black dots), between the two figures a standing goose before a large flower, a suspended mirror above the figures; Side b) a draped young boy holding a ball and a strigil, the slightly taller youth dressed in a himation and leaning on a staff, a haunch of meat hanging between the figures. 2.49 kg, 33.5 cm
with Bonhams, London, 13 April 2000, no.167. Private collection, Suffolk. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12903-242647.
The haunch of meat (note the hoof), was a type of 'love gift' seen in Attic vase-painting. It could also refer to honorary shares of sacrificial meat: animal sacrifice had been a central part of Greek religious life since the Prehistoric era. -
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