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LOT 0064
Large Greek Red-Figure Skyphos with Owl
SOUTH ITALIAN, 5TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
6 7/8 in. (239 grams, 17.5 cm).
With mammiform body, pedestal base and two loop handles; each side with a facing image of an owl between laurel fronds.
ProvenanceSwiss private collection, assembled in the 1960s-1970s.
Private collection, acquired in 2013.
Accompanied by a thermoluminescence analysis report no.N126a14 from Oxford Authentication.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12854-241751.
See Johnson, F. B., ‘An Owl Skyphos’, in Mylonas, G., Studies Presented to David Moore Robinson on His Seventieth Birthday, vol. 2, St. Louis, 1953, pp.96-105.
FootnotesBubo was the holy beloved magical owl of the goddess Athena, and it was a common subject from the Greek ceramists. The owl-skyphos, originally produced in 5th century Athens, was extremely popular and was exported from Athens to other parts of the Greek world, including southern Italy and Etruria. Local imitations have been excavated at Corinth, and during the fourth century, or perhaps even slightly earlier, skyphoi similar to those from Athens were produced in Apulia and Etruria.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0064
Large Greek Red-Figure Skyphos with Owl
Estimate £2,500 - 3,500€2,900 - 4,060 (for guidance only)$3,380 - 4,730 (for guidance only)
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Mycenaean Painted Pottery Flask
14th-13th century B.C.Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
Comprising a circular body with a rounded base and two strap handles, a short neck with an everted rim; the body with a painted expanding cross motif with the arms separated by a band of pellets. 132 grams, 11.1 cm
Private collection, Switzerland, acquired in the 1994. Private family collection since the late 1990s. 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.13018-246795.
Mycenaean ceramics were influenced by Minoan shapes and decorative styles from the late Middle Helladic period. This close relationship – likely accompanied by the development of shared cultural practices and etiquette – creates the hypothesis that pilgrim flasks were introduced to Greece via Crete. Pilgrim flasks were produced in Mycenaean contexts from the Late Helladic IIA:1 period (1420-1390 B.C.). -
Bronze Military Standard Finial of an Ibex
Transcaucasia, 13th-6th century B.C.Estimate: £8,000 - 10,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £4,000
Wth a rounded body and prominent raised neck, a tubular muzzle with stylised eyes and ears and a small, slightly open mouth; a ring with a chain and a large carnelian sphere beneath the chin; a wide incised groove above the front legs, perhaps intended to represent muscles; a long slit beneath the abdomen; standing on a rectangular platform with a pin for insertion to a wooden shaft; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 643 grams total, ibex: 15 cm high
Acquired in Vienna, Austria, in the 1990s. Collection of N.M., former Israeli Ambassador to Austria (1998–2000). Private collection, London. 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.13039-247908.
In Scythian art, the ibex was often depicted in dynamic ‘animal style’ symbolising life, strength, and perhaps cosmic struggles, potentially linked to seasonal cycles or fertility, showing its sacred status as a totem animal alongside mouflons. The realistically depicted posture of the animal testifies to the ancient masters' keenness of observation and of their skill in rendering the character of the animal in metal. The posture recalls more archaic (7th-6th century B.C.) animal style art found in the Tagar finials. -
Large Greek Gold Bead Pendant
Circa 3rd-2ndcentury B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £351
Square in section with crosshatching to each face, hatched bulb with domed cap and loop with granulated edges. 4.79 grams, 50mm
From the London collection of the late Mr S.M., 1969-1999.
