Greek Terracotta Arm Pair

With cylindrical body and bevelled shoulder, stepped foot; three connecting palmettes above the shoulder with two flanking lotus flowers, meander pattern below; decorated with a scene from a fountain house comprising a building with three columns, water flowing from animal-shaped fountain heads into two hydria, two women approaching the vessels by stepping onto the upper step, both wearing a long himation and their hair tied up in krobyloi, two men approaching the building behind the women, dressed in cloaks and leaning on sticks, the man on the left holding a conical cup, a seated dog at his feet; restored. 715 grams, 33 cm



Ex Jean-David Cahn AG, Auction 4, Kunstwerke der Antike, 19 October 2002, no.234. Private collection. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Jean-David Cahn AG catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12642-236377. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Carved in the form of an elaborate palmette with stems in the form of spiral tendrils rising from acanthus leaves, a small rosette at the top between the converging fronds; holes on the reverse for attachment to shaft; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 57 kg total, 47 cm (53.5 cm including stand)



Acquired on the New York, USA, art market, 1994. with Christie's, London, The Stanford Place Collection of Antiquities, 26 April 2006, no.30. Private collection, UK. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Christie's 'Stanford Place Collection' catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12614-235145. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

This iconography was adapted from the Egyptian and Asiatic honeysuckle, also known as lotus palmette. First depicted on Attic white-ground lekythoi; in the 5th century B.C., then as architectural decoration, carved marble examples of this type of funerary monument were erected in the 5th-4th century B.C. It was not unusual for the anthemion to be of higher quality than the figures sculpted and painted beneath it. One splendid example is the stele of Paramythion (cf. Brinkmann-Wünsche, 2004, pp.148ff.). These memorials, originally painted, were venerated by families, anointed with oil, decorated with ribbons, and graced with offerings of food.

Sturdy round-section shank with image of a siren developing from a palmette finial; mounted on a custom-made stand. 376 grams, 14.5 cm (499 grams total, 17 cm high including stand)



From the USA art market. Ex Gorny & Mosch, 16 December 2008, no.24. Ex Keane collection, Kent, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the relevant Gorny & Mosch catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12649-235138. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.