Monumental Early Etruscan Impasto Kyathos

Bell-shaped in profile with stepped sidewall, carinated shoulder and flared rim; domed and tiered underside with basal disc. 263 grams, 11.6 cm wide



Ex property of a London, UK, gentleman, Mayfair gallery, 1990s.

Comprising a wide and shallow body with everted rim; the internal wall and the upper face of the rim decorated with a procession of nude men in knielauf position, some holding a lituus in their left hand with their right hand raised up towards the sky, the other figures with both of their hands raised up, the figures alternating with figures of lions and antelopes; rosette to the centre. 9.4 kg, 44.5 cm wide



Acquired on the European art market in the early 2000s. with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland. 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.12776-237862.

As can be discerned from the identifying marks under the vessels, Caeretan craftsmen used the potting wheel to produce the braziers, a technique introduced in Etruria in the 8th century B.C. They were usually decorated with one or more stamped friezes rolled onto the clay with a large cylindrical matrix before firing. The subjects of these friezes were adapted by the Etruscans from Near Eastern and Greek prototypes. Today, these braziers are found in chamber graves, but they were used in the daily life of Etruscans in domestic and sacred contexts, and employed as portable hearths. A famous example came from the Tomba Maroi III in the Banditaccia Necropolis at Cerveteri, now in the Museo of Villa Giulia, Rome (Pieraccini, 2003, fig.10). It was found perched on a stone seat, and within the burned brazier were burned remains, several eggs and three drinking cups.

Conical in profile, aqua glass with three incised bands below the rim on the inner face. 374 grams, 15.7 cm wide



Dr Jutaro Kawabe, Nagoya, Japan, his collection formed in the 1960s-1970s. with Hoshigaoka Gallery until the late 1990s. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12949-245243.

On ancient glass, iridescence is the soft play of colour that develops as the surface ages and becomes silica-rich. Minute layers form over time and break light into shifting blues, greens and golds. It is not a modern finish but something time has drawn out of the material itself, so the pattern and palette are unique to each piece. Collectors prize good, stable iridescence because it lifts the form: ribs read more crisply, profiles glow, and simple vessels take on depth and movement. Museums now tend to preserve these surfaces rather than polish them away, recognising both their beauty and what they tell us about an object’s long life (though it is not, by itself, a dating test). For display, iridescent glass performs brilliantly under gentle, directional light, where the colours “turn” as the vessel is moved. Well-preserved, even iridescence of this quality is not common and adds materially to the presence—and desirability—of the piece.