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LOT 0186
Large Roman Deep Blue Glass Date Flask
1ST CENTURY A.D.
3 1/8 in. (41.7 grams, 80 mm).
Mould-blown with elliptical body, short neck and thick everted rim, with modelled wrinkles imitating the texture of a dried date.
ProvenanceDr Gonik & Me Wirth, Geneva, 1970s.
Private collection, Europe.
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 a search certificate no.12394-226935.
Cf. an identical flask in the Art Institute of Chicago, inventory no.1891.32, in Alexander, K.B., ‘From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago’ in Manchester, K., Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago, New Haven, Yale University Press, 2012, p.37; see also Whitehouse, D., Roman Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass, vol.2, New York, 2001, items 519-520-521, for type; see also Stern, E.M., Ancient Glass at the foundation Custodia (Collection Frits Lug) Paris, Archaeologica Traiectina, Groningen, 1977, pp.44-46, for the diffusion of this typology inside the Mediterranean regions.
FootnotesDates were not only a staple of the Mediterranean diet, used to sweeten food and wine, but also a symbol for the New Year and a fruit often given as a gift on the occasion.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0186
Large Roman Deep Blue Glass Date Flask
Estimate £1,800 - 2,400€2,090 - 2,780 (for guidance only)$2,430 - 3,240 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£1,000 (EUR 1,160; USD 1,350) ‡+BP*
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Roman Gemstone with Minerva
2nd century A.D.Estimate: £120 - 170 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £67
Plano-convex in section with incuse image of Minerva standing with one hand extended, holding her spear and shield. 1.18 grams, 17 mm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
In Rome, the Athena Promachos type occurs on imperial silver medallions of Domitian (struck in 92 AD), since Minerva was his personal protector. On gems, it became very common from the end of the 1st century BC onwards, even on the magical gemstones. -
Roman Iridescent Glass Vessel
Circa 3rd-4th century A.D.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £75
Cottonreel-type vessel with wide base and tubular neck with an everted rim. 95 grams, 88 mm
Roman glass from an important London collection, acquired from the early 1980s. -
Roman Marble Youth in Relief
2nd century A.D.Estimate: £3,500 - 4,500 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,725
Mask, plano-convex in section with almond-shaped eyes, the drilled iris to accept an inlay in a different material; mouth opening accentuated by narrow lips; crescent-shaped strands of hair framing the forehead; reverse roughly prepared; mounted on a custom-made stand. 4.97 kg total, 25 cm high including stand
Private collection, France, 1986. with Aphrodite Ancient Art, New York, U.S.A., 12 December 2016, no.17. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13533-263102.
The face in all probability comes from an architectural context, possibly from a relief frieze (point of contact visible on the right).
