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LOT 0553
Greek Terracotta Protome Mask
CIRCA 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
4 1/4 in. (89 grams, 10.9 cm).
D-shaped ceramic panel with detailing moulding of a female bust with styled hair and soft facial features. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Cf. similar in the collection of the British Museum under accession no.1814,0704.808.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Etruscan Bronze Handle Pair with Heads of Medusa
6th-5th century B.C.Estimate: £8,000 - 10,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £4,444
Each formed as a D-shaped fluted bar with the finials formed as grotesque Medusa heads in Archaic Greek style with protruding tongue and a pair of bearded snakes framing her forehead; mounted on custom-made display stands. 695 grams total, 11 cm wide each
Ex private collection of Athos Moretti, Bellinzona, Switzerland, in the 1960s. with Christies, London, 14 June 1978, lot 344. with Sotheby's, New York, 29 May 1987, lot 154. 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.11773-204596.
The handles were possibly once part of a hydria or a stamnos. The workmanship of the nose and eyes of the Medusa recall the head of a gorgoneion from a chariot or cart fragment, today at the Metropolitan Museum (inventory no.29.131.3d1–d3). -
Eastern Mediterranean Stone and Glass Bead Collection
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Comprising: one red jasper sphere; one glass sphere with worn eye motifs; one carnelian melon bead. 35.5 grams total, 15 - 26 mm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016. -
Greek Marble Funerary Anthemion Stele
4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £17,550
Comprising a tall, plain body with two rosettes; crowned by an elaborate palmette and volute design with shallow acanthus stalks and small rosettes; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 55.6 kg total, 105.5 cm high including stand (95.2 cm without stand)
Private Swiss collection, acquired in the 1980s. with Ward & Co., New York, 2014. Private American collection, K.M., circa 2015-present. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate number S00114167, dated 2 June 2016. 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 a search certificate number no.11776-204598.
These memorials, originally painted (see gravestone from Paramythion, cf. Brinkmann-Wünsche, 2004, pp.148ff.), were venerated by families, anointed with oil, decorated with ribbons, and graced with offerings of food. They rivalled each other in the increasingly ostentatious display of family status and wealth, so much so that by the end of the 4th century B.C., a sumptuary law was passed, abruptly ceasing their production. In their heyday, these stelae provided sculptors an opportunity to demonstrate their technical virtuosity with both ornamental and figural subjects. It was not unusual for the anthemion to be of higher quality than the figures sculpted and painted below it.
