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LOT 0045
Greek Terracotta Citharode
6TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
3 3/8 in. (62 grams, 86 mm).
D-shaped in section with close-cut hairstyle, standing, holding a cithara supported on the left arm, strumming with the right hand.
ProvenanceEx Shlomo Moussaieff (1925-2015), Israel.
European private collection.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13107-246791.
Cf. Wardle, A., Musical Instruments in the Roman World, London, 1981, figs.66-79, for Graeco-Roman artworks of people playing cithara.
FootnotesThe cithara was the instrument of the ‘virtuosi’, the principal concert instrument of the ancient Greeks. Its sound box was made of wood and was much bigger than that of the lyra. Strips of copper or horn were commonly incorporated into it, which resonated in sympathy with the strings, giving a great breath of sound.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0045
Greek Terracotta Citharode
Estimate £1,200 - 1,700€1,390 - 1,970 (for guidance only)$1,620 - 2,300 (for guidance only)
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Greek Iron Spectacle Brooch with Pin
Iron Age, circa 4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Formed as a single rod in two large tightly-wound coils with integral pin and catch to reverse. 48.3 grams, 10.8 cm
From a UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
Greek Bronze Hercules and Antaeus Statue Group
Hellenistic, 3rd-1st century B.C.Estimate: £10,000 - 14,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £4,900
Dynamic scene of two nude wrestlers, the giant Antaeus and Hercules, Hercules lifting Antaeus off the ground with his arms, while Antaeus is trying to pry his arms open to regain contact with Mother Earth, which would restore his strength; set on a custom-made display stand. 1.01 kg total, 20.3 cm high including stand
Mallams Oxford. From a UK private collection since the 1970s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13333-258242.
Here, the giant Antaeus is depicted with the more common dimensions of the hero, Hercules. Antaeus was a giant, the son of Neptune and Gaia. Antaeus would challenge all passers-by to wrestling matches and remained invincible as long as he remained in contact with his mother, the Earth. As in Greek wrestling, like its modern equivalent, he typically attempted to force opponents to the ground, and he always won, killing them. He built a temple to his father using the skulls of his defeated opponents. Antaeus fought Hercules as he was on his way to the Garden of Hesperides as his Eleventh Labour. Hercules realised that he could not beat Antaeus by throwing or pinning him. Instead, he held him aloft and then crushed him to death in a bear hug. The scene is famously depicted on a Greek krater dating to the sixth century BC and now in the Louvre, and was a popular subject for Renaissance artists. The episode in which Hercules defeats Antaeus is mentioned in Ovid's Metamorphoses. -
Greek Lead Slingshot with Inscription
Circa 5th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Lozengiform in section and fusiform in plan with the Greek letters 'TO' in low relief. 31.12 grams, 34 mm
Property of a European gentleman, acquired from the estate of a London collector (formed before 2000).
