Large Greek Bronze Ring with Mounted Warrior

Piriform body with splayed foot and narrow handles; the neck with slender lotus blossoms and palmettes, Side A) two opposing roosters with a lotus blossom in between, two standing swans flanking, below a youth on horseback holding the reins of a trotting horse, a man and a woman behind the horse; Side B) a grazing deer before an advancing panther looking back, two opposing sphinxes below with their heads turned back and front paws raised. 1.06 kg, 28 cm



Ex Münzen und Medaillen A.G., H. Cahn, Basel, 13 April 1985. Private collection, Bern, Switzerland. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12643-236366.

An important work by the leading master of the 'Chalcidian' workshop, which, despite the name, is not to be located in Chalkis itself but rather in a Chalcidian colony in Magna Graecia (possibly Rhegion). Within the oeuvre of Phineus, who is known for his neck-amphorae, examples with two image zones are very rare—see, for example, the fragmentary amphora in the Faina Collection in Orvieto, with similar sphinxes.

Modelled in the round with radiating lugs forming the mane, hooked beak and pricked ears. 15.85 grams, 31.88 mm



Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.

With flared foot, ovoid body, tapering neck and scooped trefoil mouth; tall gusseted strap handle to the rear; painted frieze of a phalanx of hoplites wearing crested helmets and bell-shaped armour with round aspis and eight-shaped (Boeotian) shields, knemidai greaves, long spears and scabbarded swords. 487 grams, 23.2 cm



Private Swiss collection, 1980s. Acquired on the European art market, 1992; thence by descent. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Jacques Chamay. 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 search certificate number no.13220-249241.

The scene depicts a succession of warriors, marching to the left at a rapid pace. Closely packed, one behind the other, they are confined within the figurative field and extend well beyond the upper and lower edges. It is a scene taken from the Homeric poems. The style of the oinochoe is characterised by the abundant use of thick white and burgundy highlights, resulting in a striking polychrome effect. There is a tendency to extend the figures beyond the frame, due to the subject being too ambitious for the available surface. The chequerboard motif on the neck is a very rare decorative motif. The vase's importance is reinforced by its exceptional state of preservation.