Greek Terracotta Oil Lamp with Handle

Four-sided bead with an oval panel on each side: panel 1: reclining feline with frontal head with apotropaic eyes; panel 2: three-leaved plant opposite a goblet(?) with four pellets and two crosses; panel 3: a plant and a big frontal apotropaic eye; panel 4: three segments, a plant, a butterfly or a bird; accompanied by museum-quality impressions. 4.21 grams, 21 mm



From the collection of the late Mr Priday, Hertfordshire, UK, thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13339-258812.

Four-sided prisms are usually fashioned in jasper, light-coloured chalcedony and lightly banded carnelian. The workmanship is usually excellent. Largely on stylistic grounds, these seals are datable mostly to MMII (c. 2100–1875 B.C.), although they occur both slightly earlier and later.

Tongue-shaped with curved upper end forming an arch, integrally moulded facing female mask with band of braided hair to the brow; possibly from Rhodes. 20.8 grams, 40 mm



From the private collection of Mr Brian Edwards, New Malden, Surrey, UK, formed from the late 1970s-early 1980s; thence by descent. Accompanied by an original collector's data sheet(s) with reference no.A2.

With flared mouth, wide neck, bulbous body and ring foot, painted in brown and red matte glaze; geometric pattern spread over several registers separated by bundles of encircling stripes, triangles with hatching inside them, neck with metopes containing swastikas, rosettes and rhombuses with a band of rhombuses beneath; the shoulder with five line friezes arranged one above the other; the body decorated with meander and a band of rhombuses and triangles with hatching below, a broad black stripe (in places reddish as a result of misfiring) to the lower part; transition to the ring foot and ring foot painted black; wide strap handle attached to the shoulder and painted on the outside with a wavy line framed by dots, edge stripes and three small stars, the connecting bar patterned with stripes; museum-quality restoration. 2.04 kg, 35.5 cm



Ex Madame P., Paris. 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.12460-228686.

Vessels of the Geometric period (900-700 BCE) are easily recognisable by their abstract decorative designs, which had their origin in woven textiles and baskets. While early period pottery typically has sparse geometric motifs on a black background, the amount of decoration increased progressively to the point that objects from the late Geometric period are often entirely covered - in this example, even the strap handle.