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LOT 0125
Greek Solid Gold Earring Pair
4TH-2ND CENTURY B.C.
1 in. (18.43 grams total, 27 mm each).
Each a thick braided hoop with a collar of twisted filigree and a lion's mask finial. [2]
ProvenancePrivate London collection, 1980s.
Private collection, acquired on the British art market in 1993.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13185-249263.
Cf. Davidson, P.F., Oliver, A.J., Ancient Greek and Roman Jewelry in the Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1984, pp.40ss., for the type and especially 41-44.
FootnotesThe earrings belong to the hoop-type earrings, in which animal and human heads form the terminal as small miniature sculptures modelled in the round. The heads were attached to collars made from a single piece of gold. The group is characterised by lion heads.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0125
Greek Solid Gold Earring Pair
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
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Greek Bronze Ring with Recumbent Stag
5th-4th century B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
Ellipsoid bezel with intaglio motif of a fallen stag attacked by a predator. 6.07 grams, 25.89 mm overall, 20.88 x 17.71 mm internal diameter (approximate size British R, USA 8 1/2, Europe 18 3/4, Japan 18)
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK. -
Scythian Gold Ibex Plaque Pair
Circa 7th century B.C.Estimate: £7,000 - 9,000 (+bp*)
Current Winning Bid: £3,500
Each a profile ibex with head reversed, horn returned to attach at the neck, pellet eye, beaded ring-and-dot motif to the shoulder and hip; thick attachment loop to the reverse. 15.6 grams total, 34-34.2 mm
Acquired in the 1980s. Private collection, London, UK. 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.13253-252971.
It is possible to hypothesise that these two elements were bridle plaques, like the two wolf-shaped bridle plaques, in a similar position and style, found in the Kurgan of Pazyrik (Piotrowskij, 1987, p.107, no.137). Belt plaques with zoomorphic motifs illustrate not only the recognised unity of the zoomorphic art of the Steppes, but also the links between the Scythians and the eastern nomadic groups. -
Greek Terracotta Amphora Attributed to the Phineus Painter
Chalcidian, circa 525 B.C.Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000 (‡+bp*)
Current Winning Bid: £4,500
Piriform body with splayed foot and narrow handles; the neck with slender lotus blossoms and palmettes, Side A) two opposing roosters with a lotus blossom in between, two standing swans flanking, below a youth on horseback holding the reins of a trotting horse, a man and a woman behind the horse; Side B) a grazing deer before an advancing panther looking back, two opposing sphinxes below with their heads turned back and front paws raised. 1.06 kg, 28 cm
Ex Münzen und Medaillen A.G., H. Cahn, Basel, 13 April 1985. Private collection, Bern, Switzerland. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12643-236366.
An important work by the leading master of the 'Chalcidian' workshop, which, despite the name, is not to be located in Chalkis itself but rather in a Chalcidian colony in Magna Graecia (possibly Rhegion). Within the oeuvre of Phineus, who is known for his neck-amphorae, examples with two image zones are very rare—see, for example, the fragmentary amphora in the Faina Collection in Orvieto, with similar sphinxes.