Loading, please wait...

Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge

Details

LOT 0065

Greek Red-Figure Hydria with Fighting Between Amazons and Greek or Trojan Heroes

4TH CENTURY B.C.

18 1/8 in. (3 kg, 46 cm high).

A red-figure terracotta hydria with mythological scene, 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.

Provenance

Ex 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.

Literature

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.

Footnotes

The mythological topic of this hydria is fascinating, representing the 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 the 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).

CONDITION

VETTING:

TimeLine 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 0065

Greek Red-Figure Hydria with Fighting Between Amazons and Greek or Trojan Heroes

Estimate £8,000 - 10,000€9,280 - 11,600 (for guidance only)$10,800 - 13,500 (for guidance only)

Print page

RELATED LOTS

  • Graeco-Parthian Marble Head of a Divinity
    Graeco-Parthian Marble Head of a Divinity
    2nd century B.C.-1st century A.D.

    Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (‡+bp*)

    Opening Bid: £1,000

    An alabaster bust of a goddess with elongated face and large almond-shaped eyes; braided hair with openwork topknot and socket to accept an inset stud, gathered at the rear in a chignon. 639 grams, 11.6 cm



    Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private Swiss collection since 1998. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11611-199026.

    Several female figures, found in the Parthian graves of Babylonia, are represented in loose attire exhibiting strange headdresses, which give us some notion of the costume of the period. Some of them show a headgear rising into two tall conical peaks, from which a veil is suspended. Nude female figures, probably representing Assyrian Mylitta or Venus, were extremely common during the Parthian period, having been handed down from antiquity. Similar figures are universal throughout the east before the Christian era.

    Lot Details

  • Hellenistic Terracotta Pyxis
    Hellenistic Terracotta Pyxis
    3rd-2nd century B.C.

    Estimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (‡+bp*)

    Opening Bid: £600

    A terracotta pyxis with separate lid; small flared base, carinated profile with large flange rim, lid with broad flange, domed upper face with rosette detailing and central facing female bust. 189 grams, 90 mm wide



    Ex Atenasov collection, Germany, before 1973.

    Lot Details

  • Etruscan Terracotta Fragment of a Face
    Etruscan Terracotta Fragment of a Face
    6th century B.C.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £780

    An amorphous fragment from a terracotta face, retaining the left eye, nose, partial upper lip and fringes of hair, rendered with semi-naturalistic detailing. 125 grams, 13 cm high



    Private Swiss collection, acquired 2002.

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list