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LOT 0576
Greek Painted Pottery Aryballos
CORINTHIAN, CIRCA 6TH CENTURY B.C.
3 in. (212 grams, 75 mm).
With a narrow neck and a broad rim to the mouth, a short strap handle to the rear; painted concentric rings around the mouth.
ProvenancePrivate collection, acquired in 1994; thence by descent.
LiteratureCf. similar aryballos in the Department of Classics at the College of Art and Science of the University of the Colorado, inv.no.2006.37.T.; cf.also Bernhard, M.L., Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum Pologne-Fasc. 5: Varsovie-Musée National ii (Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawn, 1960), pl. 32 (1, 3, 4).
FootnotesFrom the 8th century B.C., Corinthian pottery vessels were exported to Greek colonies in South Italy and the coast of Asia Minor. They were used to hold perfumed oil, an essential item for the wealthy middle classes of the time. In Italy, especially in Etruria, local workshops produced imitations of Corinthian vessel types for a clientele of Greek settlers and local populations with a taste for Greek fashions.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0576
Greek Painted Pottery Aryballos
Estimate £300 - 400€350 - 460 (for guidance only)$410 - 540 (for guidance only)
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Greek Bronze Bow Brooch
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Comprising a corrugated bow with coil to each end, one extending to the spring and the other to a broad plate with a catch at the lower end. 11.19 grams, 42.09 mm.
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Greek Terracotta Askos
Circa 5th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
With an arching strap handle and a wide spout with everted rim; ellipsoid in plan with a long flat base. 400 grams, 16 cm wide
From a late Hampshire gentleman's collection, formed from the 1960s.
The askos was an ancient Greek vessel used for pouring small quantities of oily liquids, used as an ointment container or to fill oil lamps. The modern name for this vessel is conventional; it was originally used for animal-skin wine bottles, as often seen on Dionysian-themed vase paintings, and is used in modern times to designate this vessel shape based on some morphological similarity. -
Greek Iridescent Pale Aqua Glass Bowl
Hellenistic, mid 2nd-early 1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
Conical in profile with a rounded apex, aqua glass with three incised bands below the rim on the inner face. 380 grams, 16 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.