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LOT 0111
Greek Silver-Gilt Vase with Winged Putti Picking Grapes
HELLENISTIC, 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.
5 3/4 in. (150 grams, 14.5 cm).
Piriform in profile with flared foot and carinated ring at the shoulder, everted rim at the mouth; band of punched decoration on the neck with vinescrolls; similar band to the shoulder with bunches of grapes, tendrils and putti.
ProvenanceAcquired on the US art market, early 1990s.
Private collection, North America.
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.13244-252968.
Cf. for similar, but not identical, vases in the treasure of Rogozen, in Fol, A., The Rogozen treasure, Sofia, 1989, pp.86, 170, no.109, and p.183, nos.149-150.
FootnotesThere is ample evidence that the princes of the Hellenistic world had a large appetite for expensive tableware. In a procession preceding games organised by the eccentric Antiochos IV Epiphanes (175-163 B.C.) in the Antiochene suburb of Daphne, 1000 silver vessels and 800 gold ones were carried. Kallixeinos of Rhodes reported the combined weight of gold and silver vessels displayed inside the pavilion of Ptolemy II Philadelphos as 10,000 talents, a weight of well over 200 tons.
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:
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LOT 0111
Greek Silver-Gilt Vase with Winged Putti Picking Grapes
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
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Archaic Greek Bronze Statuette of a Coiled and Rearing Snake
Archaic, 6th-5th century B.C.Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,500
Modelled in the round with coiled body and rearing head, barbed fin to the forehead, punched annulet texturing on the body. 312 grams, 11 cm
Private collection, Neuchâtel, Switzerland, assembled in the 1980s. Acquired in 1995 by a European private collector. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12856-241689.
Snakes were important symbols in ancient Greek culture and were often linked with protection, healing, and renewal. Because they shed their skin, they were seen as a sign of rebirth and new life. They were also connected with gods and spirits of the earth and underworld, and in some cases were thought to protect the home or sacred places. In Greek art, a snake could therefore carry both religious and symbolic meaning. -
Greek, Roman and Western Asiatic Bronze Ring and Bezel Collection
2nd century B.C.-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Including ellipsoid, discoid and vesica types with various motifs. 24.8 grams total, 10-25 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Greek Core-Formed Tall Glass Alabastron
6th-5th century B.C.Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,000
With a fusiform body, slender neck and broad flange rim, decorated with marvered feathering and spiralling trails; two lateral loop handles and a pinched lateral lug. 36.69 grams, 91 mm
Anonymous sale, Binoche & Giquello, Paris, 30th May 2012, no.124. Private collection, Switzerland. Accompanied by a copy of French passport no.0150269. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13188-249220.
Alabastra of this typology, core-formed, trail-decorated and tooled, are typical of the Eastern Mediterranean. They were diminutive examples of a shape popularly produced for perfumed oils in the Greek world. Larger forms are known in both glass and ceramics.
