Hellenistic Cut-Glass Skyphos

The body formed as a female bust with elaborately styled hair; discoid foot, tall stem with pinched rim giving a broad pouring lip, strap handle to the rear; some pigment remaining. 446 grams, 22.2 cm high



Old French private collection. Swiss private collection, Basel-Landschaft. Private collection of M. Tritten, Binningen, Switzerland. Property of an East Sussex, UK, gentleman.

Composed of a shallow bowl and broad flange rim, two integral scalloped handles with scrolled flourishes, tapering to a loop handle with swan head terminals each with incised eye and beak detailing; perforated whirl within roundel to interior base; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 160 grams, 22.2 cm wide (526 grams total including stand)



Ex private South German collection, 1980s. with Christie's, New York, 8 June 2012, lot 86. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Christie's pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11578-198980.

Elaborate silver strainers, such as this present example, were used at symposia and festive occasions for the purpose of preventing the dregs of wine from entering the wine cup. This and other related silver utensils became popular in the later 4th and 3rd century B.C. These highly decorated wine strainers were fitted with dual handles forming loops in the shape of twisting animals, here a swan. Usually they took the form of a shallow dish complete with four rings of perforations in the centre in order to drain the wine. Strainers of this type were used to separate out sediments which could be found in the thick Greek wine. Examples similar to this one have been found in royal tombs in northern Greece, as well as the tomb of a monarch in Sudan.

With thick ribbed neck, crescent horns and prominent genitals; mounted on a custom-made stand. 141 grams total, 86 mm wide including stand



From the collection of D. Smith, Sussex, UK, 1990s.

Like dozens of similar statuettes depicting animals or human figures, this bronze bull was probably offered by a worshipper during a sacrifice. A large number of statuettes were found in a thick layer of ash from the altar of Zeus at Olympia. In 2021, a similar statuette, with protruding horns, was found in the sanctuary. Bulls and horses were the favourite cultic animals in the Cretan, Achaean and Archaic Greek civilisations. The model of the long and narrow body was borrowed from the Near East.