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LOT 0539
Greek Terracotta Protome Mask
LATE 6TH-EARLY 5TH CENTURY B.C.
4 1/8 in. (133 grams, 10.5 cm).
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. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
London collection, 2016.
Cf. Van Rooijen, G., Goddesses of Akragas, a study of terracotta votive figurines from Sicily, Leiden, 2021, nos.96, 163, for similar.
FootnotesThe 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?).
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AUCTIONS:
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Opening Bid: £150
Openwork with mounting lug to the reverse; animal in active pose with S-curved tail. 50 grams, 60 mm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Greek Terracotta Head Fragment
6th-5th century B.C.Estimate: £2,000 - 3,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Hollow-formed with neatly dressed hair confined by a cap or fillet; traces of pigment to the eyes. 1.1 kg, 27 cm high
Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private Swiss collection since 1998. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11607-198986. -
Archaic Greek Terracotta Figure of Mounted Warrior with Shield
7th-5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
The horse with an elongated neck and stylised features; mounted by a bearded rider gazing towards the sky, holding a shield in his left hand and a sword(?) in his right hand; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 286 grams total, 15 cm high including stand
Acquired before 1990. From an old German collection.
Terracotta figurines of horse and rider were common grave offerings in Boeotia, northwest of Attica, particularly during the 6th century B.C. Representations of warriors on horseback were already widespread in the Geometric Period, and widely used in Cyprus, during this period.
