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LOT 0106
Greek Solid Gold Ring Idol
5TH-4TH MILLENNIUM B.C.
3/4 in. (1.65 grams, 20 mm).
Annular in form with pierced tab.
ProvenancePrivate collection, acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s; thence by descent.
LiteratureCf. Mărgărit M., and Boroneanț, A., Beauty and the eye of Beholder, personal adornment across the millennia, Targoviște, 2020, fig.2p, for a similar gold ‘Ring Idol’ Pendant from Megalo Nisi Galanis.
FootnotesDuring the Greek Neolithic, certain types of ornaments share common morphological characteristics; one such example is the so-called ‘ring-idols’. The prototype of these ring-shaped pendants seems to have been made out of gold, which began to be used during these late phases of the Neolithic in Greece and the Balkans, in general.
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Greek Black-Figure Kylix with Warriors and Sphinxes
Attic, circa 530 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
Comprising: a broad shallow bowl with two loop handles curving up towards the rim, short stem and broad foot with chamfered outer edge; the bowl with reserved central disc to inner face, palmette motifs at the junctions of the handles, frieze depicting two standing nude males flanking a crouching sphinx in profile; restored and with old dealer's labels beneath base. 414 grams, 27.3 cm wide
Ex Prof. F.S., Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany, 1991. with Gallery Drees Archeo S.P.R.L., Brussels. Acquired from the above, 16 December 2017. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.S00041086. Accompanied by a Gallery Drees Archeo certificate of authenticity. Accompanied by a thermoluminescence report no.0102 0910 from Laboratory Ralf Kotalla, 6 September 2010. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12945-246388.
The present piece is a wide-bowled drinking cup known as a kylix - one of the most popular forms of pottery from the Achaean times (1600-1100 B.C.) through to the classical period (c.510-323 B.C.). It dates to an important moment in the development of Greek ceramics, just as the black-figure technique was being perfected by Athenian painters. Painted in black slip with details incised on top, kylikes usually had a frieze around the outside of the bowl as well as another scene on the tondo of the inside. The scene here represented can be linked with the well-known episode of Oedipus and the Sphinx. -
Phrygian Bronze Elbow Brooch
Iron Age, circa 7th-6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
A right-angled body with collared bulbs, spring pin and catchplate. 14.6 grams, 45 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
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Greek Terracotta Lekanis Lid
Circa 4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Discoid and convex with concentric rings to the upper face, knop handle with central recess. 34.6 grams, 77 mm
From the private collection of Mr Brian Edwards, New Malden, Surrey, UK, formed from the late 1970s-early 1980s; thence by descent.
