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LOT 0532
Greek Terracotta Artefact Collection
CIRCA 5TH-3RD CENTURY B.C. AND LATER
2 - 5 1/8 in. (739 grams total, 5.1-13 cm).
Including terracotta statue heads, amphora handle with old inked inscription on label to verso, which reads: 'AMPHORA HANDLE / PICKED UP ON SEA / BED OFF EAST SIDE / PARAMALI POINT, CYPRUS / 31 AUGUST 1968.' and other items. [5, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a late Hampshire gentleman's collection, formed from the 1960s.
LiteratureCf. Karageorghis, V., Cipro, Crocevia del Mediterraneo Orientale, 1600-500 a.C. Milano, 2002, pp.207-208, figs.410, 413.
FootnotesOne of the terracotta heads belongs to a votive statue, which by its shape seems to belong to Demeter or to the priestess of the Mother Goddess venerated in the Sanctuary of Arsos (Cyprus). The other one, also votive, showing a high headgear, represents most probably a Phoenician divinity, or a Levantine head of a priest.
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
AUCTIONS:
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Greek Terracotta Idol Head
Mediterranean, circa 700 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Stylised head with large annular eyes and pinched nose, conical headdress with horizontal striations. 17 grams total, 38 mm (60 mm including stand)
Acquired from Ancient Art, London, UK. From the collection of a Nottingham, UK, collector, established from the early 2000s. -
Lydian Silver Ribbed Jug with Spout and Handle
Archaic, 6th century B.C.Estimate: £6,000 - 8,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £3,000
Comprising a squat body with a median band of vertical ribbing, a short neck with a broad flared rim, and a thickened outer rim, a flared foot; fluted strap handle and a U-section spout flared at the outer end. 211 grams, 14 cm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13266-253452.
This jug can plausibly be placed in the Lydian world of western Anatolia during the Archaic period, when Lydia stood at the crossroads of the Greek and Near Eastern worlds. Far from being culturally isolated, Lydia was deeply involved in the exchange of artistic forms, luxury materials, and metalworking traditions that moved across the eastern Mediterranean in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C. The attribution, therefore, suggests more than geography alone: it points to a wealthy and outward-looking culture in which prestige objects in precious metal carried both social and economic weight. Silver was especially important in this period. Before coinage became widespread, it functioned as a recognised store of value and circulated in weighed forms across the Mediterranean and Near East. In Lydia, its importance is sharpened by the region’s close association with the early history of coinage: ancient sources and modern scholarship alike connect the Lydians with the development of some of the earliest coined money, first in electrum and soon after in distinct gold and silver issues. A vessel such as this would therefore have been more than a practical object. Its material alone marked it as a possession of consequence, while its workmanship placed it firmly within the culture of elite display. -
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.
