LOT 0069

Greek 'Plastic' Oinochoe with a Bust of a Bearded Man

5TH CENTURY B.C.

4 5/8 in. (77 grams, 11.8 cm).

The body formed as a male head with his elongated neck forming the foot of the vessel; wearing an ivy-leaf crown, stylised, painted facial features and a full beard, two rows of stylised curls above the forehead; the neck of the vessel emerging from the top of his head, trefoil mouth and a handle to the rear; some repainting.

Swiss private collection formed in 1960s-1970s.

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 search certificate number no.13016-246780.

Cf. Beazley, J.D., ‘Charinos, Attic Vases in the form of Human Heads’ in Journal of Hellenic Studies, 49 (1929), pp.38-78, fig.14 (specimen from Thebes); Beazley, J.D., Attic Red-Figure Vase-Painters, Oxford, 1963, 1539.6, for another plastic vase featuring Herakles; see also MET, accession no.01.8.7. for a similar Attic oinochoe with female features; cf. for other female counterparts, Christie's, Antiquities, 8th December 2021, London, 2021, lot 49; a specimen in the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes, inventory no.12913 in Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum, Italia, Museo Archeologico dello Spedale dei Cavalieri di Rodi 2, Roma, 1934, nos. III K a b c, pl.1,1-2.

Head vases first appeared in the late 7th century B.C. in eastern Greece. The potters of Attica adopted this shape in the late 6th century, with a clear preference towards female heads, but not excluding male heads, especially when referring to mythological heroes or characters. The work, with its finely modelled features, is the product of an Attic workshop. According to the Beazley classification, the oinochoe should belong to the group N (Cook Class), generally dated to the 480-460 B.C. and widespread around the Mediterranean and Black Sea (a similar female example was found in Aphytis – Chalcidika).