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LOT 0503
Greek Terracotta Head of a Goddess
4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
3 in. (41.3 grams total, 75 mm high including stand).
With a delicately modelled face and full lips, hooped earrings visible from beneath her hair; the hair with central parting and pulled to a chignon at the nape of the neck; wearing a diadem with central embellishment; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceEx French Sorbonne archaeology professor (deceased); 1960s -2000s.
LiteratureCf. Summerer, L., Hellenistische Terrakotten aus Amisos: ein Beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte des Pontosgebietes, Stuttgart, 1999, figs.S II, 15,S; for a similar head of a dancer from Amisos see Louvre CA 1876.
FootnotesThese figurines were most probably manufactured in Hellenistic cities by craftsmen who used either light yellow or dark brown clay. After the firing, the surface of the clay became reddish, while the core became grey-brown. The majority of the figurines were made from untreated clay with many impurities, such as coarse grain. Due to the quality of the clay the surface of the figurines was often rugged, despite the retouch, but were painted with vivid colours.
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AUCTIONS:
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Gold Necklace with Agate Pendant
1st century B.C.-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £15,000 - 20,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £7,500
A Graeco-Roman or Phoenician chain of loop-in-loop links and thick suspension ring, gold dome with bands of applied granules capping an egg-shaped banded agate drop. 26.19 grams, 48 cm long
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Important North West London collection. 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.11935-210477.
Agate was appreciated in the Greek and Roman world for its magical virtues. A recently found agate gemstone from Imperial-era Anapa, which differs from the other similar agate stones in its spherical shape and large size, was inscribed with a text referring to traditional Greek expulsion rituals against evil and diseases, ending with a list of human head parts similar to the one found in the Hippocratic medical handbook. The gemstone was probably worn not only as an amulet, but also as a miniature handbook with instructions for making amulets. According to Pliny the Elder (NH, XXXVII, 47) a certain type of agate was protected against spiders and scorpions. -
Greek Terracotta Protome Mask
Late 6th-early 5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Modelled as a female head with rounded oval face, slightly bulging eyes and pronounced chin, indistinct smiling mouth with thin lips, outline of ears; low straight polos with fastening hole. 130 grams, 12 cm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
The figure belongs to a common type known from mainland Greece and the islands. The head clearly shows the so-called 'Archaic smile' visible on the dedicatory protomes of the same typology. They were terracotta votive offerings attached with a nail to the shrine of a goddess for ex-voto or to receive the grace of the represented goddess (Demeter?). -
Greek Apulian Black-Glazed Mug
Circa 4th-3rd century B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
With a high-gloss black slip, ovoid body and a short wide neck with a flaring rim, a wide strap handle and a flat base. 144 grams, 95 mm wide
Ex P. A., Hertfordshire, UK, specialist collection of Greek art, 1980-1990s.
The black glaze technique uses the same glaze used by the Greeks on the red-figure and black-figure ceramics, but covering the entire piece, without figurative decoration. It was a transparent raw glaze, which took on its characteristic intense, glossy black tone after firing.
