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Details

LOT 0109

Large Greek Bronze Double-Headed Animal Terminal

GEOMETRIC, 8TH-6TH CENTURY B.C.

3 3/8 in. (55.6 grams, 86 mm).

Comprising a crescent body with a slender neck at each end, topped by a bird-head with a rectangular crest, vertical legs with raised block detailing conjoined at the lower end into a mounting peg.

Provenance

Ex collection Mr K.H., Germany.
Private collection, acquired in 2012.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13077-246757.

Literature

Cf. for similar fittings, Christiansen, J., Greece in the Geometric Period, Copenhagen, 1992, figs.70ff., esp.40,44,49-50.

Footnotes

Bird figures, standing on plates or discs, are found as votives mainly in Northern Greek sanctuaries of the Geometric Age. They should be regarded as symbolic and sometimes modest gifts to the gods. Some birds were also designed as pendants. The present fitting evokes the rooster, but a possible representation of a peacock and its connection with Hera is not to be excluded.

CONDITION

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AUCTIONS:

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LOT 0109

Large Greek Bronze Double-Headed Animal Terminal

Estimate £1,500 - 2,000€1,740 - 2,320 (for guidance only)$2,030 - 2,700 (for guidance only)

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