Loading, please wait...
_900x900.jpg "Greek Silver Medical Implement with Snake Handle")
_200x200.jpg "Greek Silver Medical Implement with Snake Handle")
.jpg "Greek Silver Medical Implement with Snake Handle")
LOT 0533
Greek Silver Medical Implement with Snake Handle
4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
10 in. (68 grams, 25 cm long).
A silver and copper-alloy medical instrument, oval in shape, the handle formed as a snake with shallow hatched pattern on the body representing scales, stylised rendering of the snake's head.
ProvenanceAcquired mid 1980s to early 1990s.
Private family collection formed in London, UK.
Accompanied by a metal test assessment number 182971/HM1456 from an Oxford specialist.
Cf. Milne, J.S., Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman times, Oxford, 1907, pl.XI,4, for a spatula with a similar snake handle.
FootnotesThe use of this spatula (probe) for medical assessment can be confirmed by its snake-shaped handle, evidently a reference to the god Asklepios, whose symbol was a staff with a serpent wrapped around it. Such implements, called 'ἀπυρομήλη', were used in the Graeco-Persian world. The survival of the handle in this example makes it a rare find.
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 0533
Greek Silver Medical Implement with Snake Handle
Estimate £450 - 650€520 - 750 (for guidance only)$610 - 880 (for guidance only)
-
.jpg)
Greek Apulian Red-Figure Stand
4th century B.C.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
A ceramic columnar stand with trumpet-shaped base, carinated balusters and broad upper face with dished centre; painted with running wave patterns to the baluster, base and top, the centre with a rosette; the base with the profile head of a lady of fashion with the earrings, necklace and diadem picked out in white. 847 grams, 25 cm high
French collection, 1990s-early 2000s. Ex Hampel Auctions, Munich, Germany, 1990s. -
Greek Ring with Leaping Lion
Circa 4th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
A copper-alloy ring composed of a round-section hoop and ellipsoidal bezel displaying an incuse leaping lion motif, collars to shoulders. 4.23 grams, 26.35 mm overall, 19.34 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)
Early 1990s London collection. Acquired on the UK art market. From a private collection, Lancashire, UK. -
Greek Terracotta Foot-Shaped Aryballos
6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,210
A ceramic vessel shaped as a human foot with sandal; cup-shaped mouth above the ankle with strap to the rear, painted strap detailing; restored. 118 grams, 10.8 cm
Ex Léon Rodrigues-Ely (1924-1973), Marseille, France. with Christie's, Paris, Collection of Léon Rodrigues-Ely-Joseph Soustiel et à Divers, 6 May 2015, lot 32. Accompanied by a copy of a French cultural passport no.163295.
