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_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
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LOT 0533
Greek Silver Medical Implement with Snake Handle
Estimate £450 - 650€520 - 750 (for guidance only)$610 - 880 (for guidance only)
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Archaic Greek Mounted Warrior with Shield
7th-5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
A terracotta figure modelled in the round as a mounted warrior, the stylised horse modelled standing on stub legs, with a long neck and detailing to its eyes; the warrior holding a shield in his left hand, right hand and arm raised to eye level, wearing a crested helmet; restored and mounted on a custom-made display stand. 410 grams total, 16 cm high including stand
Acquired before 1990. From an old German collection.
Terracotta figurines of horse and rider were common grave offerings in Boeotia, northwest of Attica, particularly during the 6th century B.C. Representations of warriors on horseback were already widespread in the Geometric Period, and also widely employed in Cyprus in this same period. The image of our rider, although influenced by Cypriot designs, does not show typical Cypriot characteristics, and indeed his kausia cap suggests a northern Greek origin. -
Greek Terracotta Head Fragment
6th-5th century B.C.Estimate: £3,500 - 4,500 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,700
A hollow-formed ceramic head of a female with neatly dressed hair confined by a cap or fillet; traces of pigment to the eyes. 1.1 kg, 27 cm high
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.11607-198986. -
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.
