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LOT 0044
Greek Terracotta Female Protome
EARLY 5TH CENTURY B.C.
7 3/4 in. (606 grams, 19.5 cm).
Mould-made female protome with oval face, graceful nose and typical "archaic" smile; forehead framed by snail-shell curls descending to shoulder-height; with a low polos with a central perforation and large disc earrings.
ProvenanceEx Herbert A. Cahn, Kunst der Antike, Basel, 1997.
with Paul and Vreny Vosseler-Studer, Riehen.
Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00057826.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12474-228714.
Cahn, H. A., Griechische und Etruskische Kunstwerke archaischer Zeit, 600 - 480 v. Chr. : Katalog 9 Januar 1998. Basel Cat.9, (Basel 1998) no.19.
LiteratureCf. for various similar examples in Capuano, A., 'Il culto di Demetra nella Lucania Antica' in Basilicata Regione Notizie, 2017, pp.128-151.
FootnotesThe presence of cults in Magna Graecia, although they fell within a well-established pantheon, in which the deity representing the Great Mother or Mother Earth, protector of fertility, natural and human fecundity, as well as health, was the most ancient, traces back to the figure of Demeter. In terracotta statuary, especially in Lucania, the goddess became the prevalent subject of votive or propitiatory offerings, reproduced in numerous variations of pose. The most common is the seated position, a distant tradition and widespread in the ancient world, the so-called 'goddess enthroned' with its multiple meanings, which allowed it to be adapted to various forms of worship. Demeter is a female deity connected to the earthly world and fertility, and therefore also present in Lucanian religiosity. The theme of the archaic protome—a head severed just below the neck—was transformed and expanded between the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., into that of the bust, finished just above the waist.
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LOT 0044
Greek Terracotta Female Protome
Estimate £1,200 - 1,700€1,390 - 1,970 (for guidance only)$1,620 - 2,300 (for guidance only)
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Greek Terracotta Figure of Eros, the God of Love
Hellenistic, 3rd-1st century B.C.Estimate: £8,000 - 10,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £4,000
Modelled nude in a dynamic pose with his wings spread open, the left leg slightly advanced, and the right arm extended with open palm, a diadem or a fillet on his head; circular socket between the wings; accompanied by a display stand. 808 grams total, 31 cm including stand
Louis-Gabriel Bellon (1819-1899) collection, France. European private collection, 2009. 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 number no. 13014-246790.
In classical times, Eros was usually depicted as a handsome adolescent, with only his wings distinguishing him from other kaloi and young athletes. Sometimes he was depicted younger and with less masculine features: Lysippos, in the famous statue of Eros of Thespiae, depicted him as a youth. -
Greek Terracotta Toy Skyphos
Corinthian, circa 600 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Miniature skyphos with loop handles to the rim, painted horizontal bands to sidewall and vertical slashes; supplied with old collector's record card. 4.46 grams, 40 mm
From the collection of the late Bernard C. Pickard, Hampshire, UK, the owner of Bernard C. Pickard Antiquities, which closed in 1987, he had been collecting since the mid 1950s.
Bernard Pickard was a close friend of Richard Hattatt, the renowned author of several books on ancient brooches. Hattatt acknowledges in his first book, Ancient & Romano-British Brooches, published in 1982, that Mr Pickard first aroused his interest in brooches and inspired him in writing his books during his retirement. Mr Pickard also wrote the foreword to the section on Roman animal brooches, op. cit. p.158-160. -
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Parthian Carnelian Gemstone of a Goat-Headed Rhyton in Gold Ring
4th century B.C.-220 A.D.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Achaemenid or Parthian oval intaglio engraved with a style standing at the threshold between natural and stiff rigid linear style, depicting a goat-headed rhyton, the vessel terminating in the forepart of a wild goat with the front leg tucked under the body, the head rendered in profile with elegantly arched horns, pronounced muzzle, and carefully incised eye; the neck of the conical rhyton decorated with diagonal and cross-hatched incisions suggesting ribbing or chased metalwork; set in a modern gold ring with a small triangular area at the top left of the stone filled in with gold; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 8.51 grams, 24.02 mm overall, 21.18 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P, USA 7 1/2, Europe 16.23, Japan 15)
Acquired on the European art market. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13356-257945.
The subject, a rhyton terminating in an animal protome, belongs to a well-established tradition in Eastern Greek and Achaemenid art of the late Archaic and Classical periods, in which zoomorphic libation vessels were used in ritual and ceremonial contexts. Goat-headed rhyta, though less commonly preserved in glyptic media, are attested in silver and ceramic examples, notably from Asia Minor and Thrace. The stylised horned animal, here likely a wild goat or ibex, is associated with vitality and mountain symbolism, while the rhyton itself signals elite drinking culture and votive use. The use of carnelian is typical of high-quality glyptic production in the 6th to 4th century BC, valued for its durability and ability to take a fine polish. The style and iconography suggest an Eastern Mediterranean origin, most probably Ionian or Anatolian.
