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LOT 1370
Mycenaean Glazed Terracotta Conical Shaped Stamp Seal with Animal
CIRCA 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
3/4 in. (4.55 grams, 20 mm wide).
Conical body pierced through the top, the underside with an incuse seated beast with open wings facing back; accompanied by a museum-quality impression.
ProvenanceUK private collection before 2000.
London collection, acquired on the UK art market.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1370
Mycenaean Glazed Terracotta Conical Shaped Stamp Seal with Animal
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£50 (EUR 58; USD 68) +BP*
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Greek Terracotta Female Protome
Early 5th century B.C.Estimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £650
Mould-made female protome with oval face, graceful nose and typical "archaic" smile; forehead framed by snail-shell curls descending to shoulder-height; with a low polos with a central perforation and large disc earrings. 606 grams, 19.5 cm
Ex Herbert A. Cahn, Kunst der Antike, Basel, 1997. with Paul and Vreny Vosseler-Studer, Riehen. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00057826. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12474-228714.
The presence of cults in Magna Graecia, although they fell within a well-established pantheon, in which the deity representing the Great Mother or Mother Earth, protector of fertility, natural and human fecundity, as well as health, was the most ancient, traces back to the figure of Demeter. In terracotta statuary, especially in Lucania, the goddess became the prevalent subject of votive or propitiatory offerings, reproduced in numerous variations of pose. The most common is the seated position, a distant tradition and widespread in the ancient world, the so-called 'goddess enthroned' with its multiple meanings, which allowed it to be adapted to various forms of worship. Demeter is a female deity connected to the earthly world and fertility, and therefore also present in Lucanian religiosity. The theme of the archaic protome—a head severed just below the neck—was transformed and expanded between the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., into that of the bust, finished just above the waist. -
Greek Lead Slingshot with Alpha
1st century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Lenticular type with casting seam to the rim, raised iconic Greek letter A (alpha) on one side and the other side with a thunderbolt(?). 26.2 grams, 32 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Greek Terracotta Oil Lamp with Handle
Hellenistic, 2nd-1st century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Low-relief ovolo decoration on the body with a raised rosette motif on the nozzle, ribbed loop handle to the rear, and an inked collector's note '191' on the base. 53.7 grams, 11.2 cm
From an important collection of lamps, Germany, 1970s.