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LOT 0074
Greek Tarentine Terracotta Head of a Youth
MID 4TH CENTURY B.C.
9 1/8 in. (1.2 kg total, 25.3 cm high including stand).
Possibly depicting Ganymede or Paris, wearing a soft Phrygian cap with everted brim, the hair swept back from the face; almond-shaped eyes with pronounced eyelids, straight nose and fleshy lips; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceAcquired early 20th century.
From the collection of Count Henri d'Epinay (1940-2017), Longuenesse, France.
Accompanied by a copy of a French cultural passport no.196149.
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 no.11824-207736.
Cf. Reinach, S., Repertoire de la statuarie grecque et romaine, Paris, 1930, pp.471ff., and especially no.7, p.472; Rausa, F., ‘L’immagine del vincitore: L’atleta nella statuaria greca dall’età arcaica all’ellenismo’, in Ludica 2, Treviso and Rome, 1994, pp.136–38; Belli Pasqua, R., La scultura in marmo e in pietra. Catalogo del Museo Nazionale Archeologico di Taranto IV, 1., Taranto, 1995; Hakanen, V., Ganimede in the art of the Roman Campania, Ancient Roman viewers' experience of erotic mythological art, Helsinki, 2022; for similar heads in terracotta see Ferruzza, M.L., Ancient Terracottas from South Italy and Sicily in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2016, nos.19, 20, 21.
FootnotesThe terracotta sculpture appears to have similarities with other Tarentine heads from the early Hellenistic Period. A marble head from Taranto, datable to the end of the 4th century B.C., presents similar elements. The visible character is clearly attributable to Graeco-Roman mythology. The only clue regarding the identity of the head is provided by the Phrygian cap, which narrows down the identification to few characters from Greek mythology: the Trojan prince Ganymede, abducted by Zeus for his beauty and named by him the cupbearer of the gods, or the Trojan prince Paris. There are many representations of Ganymede in a Phrygian cap (Hakanen, 2022, plates 6,12a). However, the third possibility is that the sculpture represents Attis, lover of the goddess Cybele.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0074
Greek Tarentine Terracotta Head of a Youth
Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,720
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Cypriot Trefoil Jug with Concentric Decorations
700-600 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,640
With low basal ring, globular body, cylindrical neck with a pinched trefoil spout and thick ribbed strap-handle from shoulder to rim; decorated on each broad face with concentric rings in black and red paint with vertical bands of smaller concentric rings to the shoulder. 1.7 kg, 32.5 cm high
From the collection of Herbert Henry Marks (1896-1972), acquired 1930s-1940s. Subsequently by descent to his son, Stephen Powys Marks (1932-2020), Bath. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11848-207711. -
Italic Bronze Bow Brooch
8th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
With a simple curved arch decorated with engraved banding; integral pin and large catchplate. 32 grams, 88 mm
From the family collection of a Surrey gentleman since before 1960.
Chronological and geographical variations of the Italic fibulae are dependent on the decoration of the arch. The use of bronze and iron (and even silver and electrum in the south) is less of a factor within the individual type series than it is for the overall trend of styles. The rare use of iron in the seventh century and increasingly frequent use throughout the sixth century never rivalled the popularity of bronze, which remained more practical and convenient for working with familiar techniques. -
Archaic Greek Terracotta Seated Goddess
5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Represented in the typical female attire wearing a long chiton and a polos headgear; seated upon a throne with side horns, hands upon her knees; flat back. 413 grams, 18.5 cm
Acquired in Europe before 1996.
The typical 5th century B.C. terracotta female figurine was a standing or seated woman wearing a chiton and a himation. It usually represented the goddess Demeter, and it was a votive figure offered to the shrines or temples. Attica was one of the principal centres of figurine production, but Corinth continued to produce solid standing or seated females with moulded fronts and flat backs.
