Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0071
Hellenistic Iridescent Pale Aqua Glass Bowl
MID 2ND-EARLY 1ST CENTURY B.C.
6 1/8 in. (374 grams, 15.7 cm wide).
Conical in profile, aqua glass with three incised bands below the rim on the inner face.
Provenance
Dr Jutaro Kawabe, Nagoya, Japan, his collection formed in the 1960s-1970s.
with Hoshigaoka Gallery until the late 1990s.
Private collection, London, UK.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12949-245243.
Literature
Cf. similar bowl in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession no.81.10.36.
Footnotes
On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence—and desirability—of the piece.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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 0071
Hellenistic Iridescent Pale Aqua Glass Bowl
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000€2,320 - 3,480 (for guidance only)$2,700 - 4,050 (for guidance only)
RELATED LOTS
-
Greek Inscribed Lead Slingshot
4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Biconical in profile with casting seam and reserved legend 'ΦΙΛ[.]VOC (PHILIPPOS)'. 35.8 grams, 30 mm
Acquired on the German art market before 2000. Private collection, Munich, Germany.
The leaden bullets, thrown with slings, were called in Greek molivdainai (μολύβδαιναι), and in Latin glandes; the former indicating the material ‘lead’, the latter the shape ‘acorns’. These bullets were cast in a mould and bore letters or devices, or both, on two sides or only on one. In form, they were more like an almond than an acorn, but many are pointed at both ends. -
Greek Bronze Bow Brooch Group
4th-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
Each comprising a thick segmented bow with an integral coiled spring to one end, developing to a sturdy pin; to the other end, a U-section lobed catchplate on a single-coil spring. 25.5 grams total, 43-53 mm
Previously in a European collection formed prior to 1980. From a private collection formed in the Netherlands. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
Large Greek Gold Pomegranate Amulet
Circa 5th-3rd century B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
Pendant or bead of pomegranate form, crowned by four pointed petals over a broad shoulder and a rounded, tapering body. 1.77 grams, 17 mm
From the collection of a late Japanese gentleman, 1970s onwards.
