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LOT 0059
Greek Silver-Gilt Mask of Silenus
3RD-2ND CENTURY B.C.
1 1/2 in. (3 7/8 in.) (9.4 grams, 37 mm (160 grams total, 98 mm high including stand)).
Naturalistically modelled in repoussé as the mature and frowning face of the god Silenus; accompanied by a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceEx old English collection.
London art market, 1980s.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11849-207741.
Cf. The Dallas Museum of Art, object number 1991.75.74.3, for a broadly comparable mask in gold.
FootnotesIn Greek mythology, Silenus was a god of the forest, associated with musical creativity, ecstatic dance and drunkenness. He was also a prophet and a bearer of dire wisdom. When the god Dionysus was born from the thigh of Zeus, Hermes took the infant to live with Silenus, where he was raised together with local nymphs in a cave on mount Nysa. Silenus was frequently present in the train of Dionysus, fought with the latter against the giants, and accompanied him on his adventures.
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AUCTIONS:
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Campanian Red-Figure Neck-Amphora with Cavalryman
340-330 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £10,400
The piriform body with broad, stepped rim and two round-section handles; red-figure frieze depicting two standing women facing, wearing a himation and stephane; the other side with a nude standing warrior wearing an Apulo-Corinthian helmet, holding the reins of his horse, acanthus leaves, ovolo and wave motifs to the neck and lower body; probably from a Cuma workshop. 1.55 kg, 40.2 cm high
Ex private collection Mr S., Geneva, by inheritance. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. Accompanied by an original thermoluminescence analysis report no.N123k3 from Oxford Authentication. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11784-206515.
The illustration of the horse is noteworthy: contemporary descriptions speak about the Sicilian horses as 'generous, swift and with firm foot' (Aeneid III, 704). The Oscan poet Lucilius of the 2nd century B.C. quotes the Campanian chargers as ‘fiery and brave although not very fine in their look’. The artistic evidence, like here, depicts well-built horses with fine legs suitable for middle-light cavalry. -
Greek Large Gold Dolphin Pendant
Circa 4th-3rd century B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £300
Formed as an amphora with dolphin handles, the body composed of a biconical jasper bead, repoussé and filigree detailing to the animals, suspension loops between; restored. 4.68 grams, 33 mm
From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s. -
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Greek Core-Formed Glass Aryballos
Circa 5th-3rd century B.C.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
In opaque blue glass, flask shaped with shallow vertical channelling and polychrome feathering, trails to the neck and broad everted rim; iridescent surfaces; restored. 70 grams, 78 mm
Ex Maurice Mathieu. Acquired from Asfar, Lebanon, 1960s. Art Auction, Rémy Le Fur & Associés, 10 October 2012, lot 130. Accompanied by a copy of a French cultural passport no.116789.
