Mycenaean Glazed Terracotta Conical Shaped Stamp Seal with Animal

Comprising a gold wire hoop with panels of baluster detailing, scrolled and securing a gold cell with an inset cabochon gemstone; to the domed face, the god Asclepius with caduceus symbol; to the flat face, goddess Hygeia standing holding a serpent; some usage wear. 2.12 grams, 22.48 mm overall, 14.21 x 16.13 mm internal diameter (approximate size British F 1/2, USA 3, Europe 4.3, Japan 4)



Private collection, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13357- 259200.

Asclepius, son of Apollo and Coronis, was the Graeco-Roman god of medicine, healing and prophecy. He had two daughters with Epione, the goddess of soothing - Hygeia (goddess of health) and Panacea (goddess of healing).

Opaque scaraboid engraved in globolo style with a dynamic scene of a charioteer driving a biga with his whip raised; set in a later sheet-gold mount and swivel ring, possibly 19th century; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 4.26 grams, 25.07 mm overall, 17.77 x 16.22 mm internal diameter (approximate size British O, USA 7, Europe 14.98, Japan 14)



Private English collection, formed between the late 1970s and early 1990s. Private collection, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12948-245985.

In line with trends introduced from the Eastern Mediterranean increasing use was made by the Etruscans of war chariots, even more luxurious in appearance and faced with embossed sheets of bronze. In addition to transporting warriors, they proved an effective means of controlling outlying areas, and in case were status symbols of great prestige. The Orientalizing period also saw the importation of swift and nimble breeds that were particularly suited for use as cavalry mounts.

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.