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LOT 0092
Large Phoenician Ceramic Piriform Jug
LEVANTINE, 8TH CENTURY B.C.
11 in. (1.72 kg, 28 cm).
With trefoil mouth and integral ribbed handle, covered in a red slip with burnished surface; held in an antique wooden box crate.
ProvenanceCollected by Miss Patience Townend, in the late 1950s.
Thence by descent to the owner’s godmother.
By gift to Mrs Lucy Manningham-Buller, circa 2002.
Private collection, UK.
Accompanied by a copy of a letter from Rupert Chapman, Curator of Levantine Antiquities, in the Middle Eastern Department at the British Museum, dated 4th March 2013, discussing the piece: ‘…there is no doubt in our minds that the piece is genuine, and that it dates to the eighth century B.C....the piece you have is a very fine one… any museum would be very happy to have such a fine example in its collection’.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13090-248974.
Cf. similar specimen in MET, accession no.74.51.643.
FootnotesThis object exemplifies the high-quality tableware produced during its historical period, intended for use in the wealthiest homes.
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:
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Greek Attic Red-Figure Fragment Collection
Early 5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £975
Comprising four irregular fragments depicting an owl with a dotted body and large circular eyes, a youthful nude wearing a laurel wreath, a draped young female, male head with long hair wearing a wreath of vine leaves. 26 grams total, 36-70 mm
From the stock of a former UK antiquarian, acquired at trade fairs and from private collection formed in the 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Europe. -
Greek Gold and Jet Diadem with Masks
Hellenistic, 3rd-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £14,300
A gold necklace or diadem composed of twenty-two articulated units each in the form of a complex shields terminating in finials decorated with palmettes executed in filigree; body consists of shield-shaped jet(?) elements with a central rhomboid panel, joined above and below by triangular sections decorated with granulated triangles; the perimeter of each shield framed by a soldered beaded wire; at the centre of each rhomboid panel, an embossed appliqué mask in low relief; to the reverse of each element, two vertically aligned loops formed from narrow gold strips and intended for articulation; offered in a lined wooden display case. 22.5 grams, 21.6 cm
Ex M. Velensky collection, London, UK, 1990s. Accompanied by a copy of a four page examination report number 90/2015 by Dr habil Mikhail Treister. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13104-248043.
The terminals are comparatively rare survivals, decorated with palmettes in filigree, a feature only occasionally attested among comparable assemblages from Bosporan contexts. The overall typology, decorative programme, and construction techniques closely parallel examples recovered from well-documented burials at Phanagoria, Pantikapaion, Tanais, and Tsukur-Liman. Comparable necklaces combining shield elements with embossed human heads are particularly characteristic of the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. According to the examination conducted by Dr habil. Mikhail Treister, there is nothing to challenge the authenticity of the object. The specific form, restricted geographic distribution, and close parallels suggest manufacture within a workshop of the Bosporan Kingdom, most plausibly in Phanagoria, one of its principal production centres during the Hellenistic period. -
Greek Red-Figure Owl Skyphos
Attic, 4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,235
Mammiform body with flared pedestal base and two loop handles to the rim; each side with a facing image of an owl between laurel fronds; concentric circles to the base, Attic workmanship. 115 grams, 15.2 cm wide
Acquired on the art market between the late 1990s and mid-2000s. Estate of the late Barry Paul Buxton (1944–2024), Oakham, Rutland. Acquired on the UK art market, 2025.
