Greek Terracotta Idol Head

Matched pair of hooked wire earrings, each with an inset cabochon, articulated dangles and other ornaments. 5.15 grams total, 46 mm each



Private American collection, 1970s-1980s. with Robert Haber, New York, USA, circa 1990s. Private collection, Europe. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, 8 September 2004. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13187-249264.

This pair belongs to the Hellenistic group of earrings with pendants, a broad group including pendants shaped as amphorae, birds, erotes and other exotic elements. Most of them come from sites around the Aegean or the Eastern Mediterranean and were probably produced in workshops in these regions. They usually date from the 2nd to the 1st centuries B.C.

Conical in profile with a rounded apex, aqua glass with three incised bands below the rim on the inner face. 380 grams, 16 cm wide



Dr Jutaro Kawabe, Nagoya, Japan, his collection formed in the 1960s-1970s. with Hoshigaoka Gallery until the late 1990s. 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.12949-245243.

On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence—and desirability—of the piece.

Comprising an ellipsoid panel mounted on a conical socket; openwork lattice design with lozenge voids; socket with horse-head to one face, lateral lugs above the mouth. 570 grams, 24.6 cm



Private European collection, 1990s. Private collection, London, UK. 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.13278-254311.

Bronze pole tops, together with mirrors and horse trappings, were characteristic of Scythian art. Usually, Scythian warrior burials were accompanied by horses, the number of which corresponded to the status of the deceased (Galanina, 1997, p.54, fig.16). In the famous Chrertomlyk barrow, together with a deposit of 250 bridles, several openwork pole-tops were found, with figures of animals and birds, which could have been mounts for the harness or top of standards. However, they could also have been the upper part of staff poles decorating funeral wagons. Pole tops are one of the most significant objects used by the Scythians, and formed part of the ritual furnishings.