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LOT 0555
Greek Large Lekanis Lid with Lady of Fashion
5TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
8 7/8 in. (596 grams, 22.5 cm wide).
A lid from a large lekanis, composed of a domed body with inverted rim and large, tiered finial, the centre of the handle painted with lines radiating from a central circle, the painted motif to the body with areas of polychrome detailing and featuring the head of a lady of fashion to two sides, stylised shell panels between, waves around the rim; repaired.
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1990s.
Ex Cummings collection, UK.
Cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession number 2021.40.31a, b, for a similar example.
FootnotesA lekanis was a covered dish.
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AUCTIONS:
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Greek Trailed Glass Vessel Group
2nd-1st century B.C.Estimate: £500 - 700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
A pair of glass vessels with polychrome decoration and iridescent surfaces: an alabastron with fusiform body, conical foot and ledge handles, decorated with yellow feathering and trails; a blue amphoriskos with yellow festooning and trails, knop foot and everted rim; fragmentary. 197 grams total, 11.3-15 cm high
Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private collection since 1998. -
Hellenistic Gold Amphora Pendant Inlaid with Gemstones
2nd-1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
A gold amphora-shaped pendant composed of strip-twist volute handles, spool-shaped neck, piriform body and plinth style foot, body decorated with deep geometric cells inlaid with vibrant lapis lazuli, turquoise and possibly glass paste; suspension loop over mouth; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 6.96 grams, 33 mm (16 grams total, 49 mm including stand)
Fine condition.
with Sotheby's, New York, 12 June 2001, lot 230 (US$10,000-$15,000). Property of a London gentleman. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Sotheby's catalogue pages. -
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.