Loading, please wait...
LOT 0080
Greek Red-Figure Hydria with Combat Scene Between Amazons and Greek or Trojan Heroes
4TH CENTURY B.C.
18 1/8 in. (3 kg, 46 cm high).
The vessel with integral round-section upward-facing handles, a third, round-section handle placed vertically between shoulder and upper neck to rear; laurel sprigs to the neck with traces of gilding; combat scene with Amazons (and Trojans?) below, armed with short swords and crescent shields, most wearing an exomis leaving the shoulder and one breast uncovered; volute palmettes below both side-handles, a panel of tiered and swirling volutes to the rear, all on a band of egg-moulding, repeated around the rim; possibly Apulian or Campanian; restored.
ProvenanceEx collection Woodyat, Rome, Italy, 1912.
with Vente Genève, 24 & 25 June 1960.
Private European 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 search certificate number no.11581-199028.
Cf. The British Museum, museum number 1867,0508.1339 'Pottery: red-figured hydria (water jar)', for a similar type of vessel with a comparable volute panel to the rear, in Smith, A.N., Pryce, F.N., CVA British Museum 2 / Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Great Britain 2, British Museum 2, London, 1926, pl.8, 15; cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession number 07.128.1, for a similar vessel type, in Von Bothmer, D., Guide to the Collections: Greek and Roman Art, New York, 1964, p.24, fig.32; Trendall, A.D. & Cambitoglou, A., The Red-Figured Vases of Apulia, vol.1, Oxford, 1978, pl.XXX; Robinson, E.G.D., Carpenter, T., Lynch K.M., The Italic People of Ancient Apulia: New Evidence from Pottery for Workshops, Markets, and Customs, Cambridge, 2014, figs.4.5; for the represented topic see Patten, A.E., Addressing the Other: The Amazon in Greek Art, University Honors Theses, Portland, Paper 24, 2013, fig.2, folio VIII.
FootnotesThe mythological topic of this hydria is fascinating, representing a fight between Amazons and Greek or Trojan heroes (suggested by the central cavalryman wearing a Phrygian cap). During this period, Amazons were no longer represented as Persian or Scythian warriors, as in Attic red-figure ceramics, but depicted as athletic parthenoi and wearing chitons. Rather than oriental costume and armour, the Amazons wear a short exomis with a bare shoulder and breast (Patten, 2013, PI.VI, I, VI,2, 2 and 3).
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0080
Greek Red-Figure Hydria with Combat Scene Between Amazons and Greek or Trojan Heroes
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
-
Etruscan Bronze Handled Mirror with Robed Female Dancers
Circa 5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
Disc mirror with handle comprising: slightly dished mirror with thick rim and low-relief image of two females dancing with a sash connecting them; punched crescents in the field; reverse with dentilled border; D-section handle with angled junction and knop finial; provided with a custom-made stand; later engraving. 300 grams, 26 cm including stand
Acquired Sotheby's, New York, U.S.A., early 1980s. Private New York City collection. Acquired from Arte Primitivo, New York City, U.S.A., 7 December 2016, lot 342. Private collection of Professor Kenneth Graham, London, UK. Accompanied by the original catalogue page and a print-out of the online listing. -
Greek Blackware Kantharos
5th-4th century B.C.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
With broad disc foot, drum-shaped bowl with carinated lower edge, flared rim, two ribbed strap handles rising above the rim; below on each face vine tendrils in a splayed array. 381 grams, 20.5 cm wide
From a West Coast collection, Devon, UK, 1980s. -
Greek Terracotta Protome Mask
Late 6th-early 5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Modelled as a female head with rounded oval face, slightly bulging eyes and pronounced chin, indistinct smiling mouth with thin lips, outline of ears; low straight polos with fastening hole. 133 grams, 10.5 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
The figure belongs to a common type known from mainland Greece and the islands. The head clearly shows the so-called 'Archaic smile' visible on the dedicatory protomes of the same typology. They were terracotta votive offerings attached with a nail to the shrine of a goddess for ex-voto or to receive the grace of the represented goddess (Demeter?).