Loading, please wait...
LOT 0090
Hellenistic Glass Gem with Goddess
3RD-2ND CENTURY B.C.
7/8 in. (2.52 grams, 22 mm).
Engraved with a goddess (Aphrodite?), facing right, peplos around her hips, her left elbow resting on a column and her left hand behind her body; the right hand outstretched and holding a sceptre; a snake(?) before.
ProvenanceAcquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s.
Important North West London collection.
Cf. Amorai-Stark, S., ‘Roman Wheel-cut Engraving, Dyeing and Painting Microquartz Gemstones’ in Journal of Archaeological Science, 2003, 30, pp.227-238, pl.2, fig.1, for the type.
FootnotesIn the famous Greek myth of the Gorgon, Aphrodite, jealous of their beauty, placed a curse on Medusa and her sisters, transforming their hair into snakes and making their gaze turn anyone into stone.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0090
Hellenistic Glass Gem with Goddess
Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)
-
Greek Black-Glazed Pinecone Jug
5th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
With raised domes to the body, broad neck, everted rim, bifurcated handle, foot. 105 grams, 86 mm
Very fine condition.
Acquired European art market, 1980s-1990s. Private English collection. -
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. -
Archaic Greek Terracotta Figure of Mounted Warrior with Shield
7th-5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Modelled in the round, the stylised horse standing on stub legs, with a long neck and detailing to its eyes; the warrior holding a shield in his left hand, right hand and arm raised to eye level, wearing a crested helmet; restored and mounted on a custom-made display stand. 303 grams total, 17 cm high including stand
Acquired before 1990. From an old German collection.
