Parthian Blue Glazed Amphora-Type Vessel

Modelled in the round with a muscular nude body, his club lifted in his right hand behind his head, his hair dressed in rows of tight, close-set curls underneath a Nemean lionskin hood with cloak billowing over his left arm, the paws tied across his chest; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 290 grams total, 14.5 cm high (19.5 cm high including stand)

Fine condition, excellent uniform patina.

with Sotheby's, New York, 21 November 1985, lot 60. Ex private New York collection. 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.11794-206497.

The statuette assumes the position of the 'attacking Hercules', which characterises numerous Etruscan statues of the hero of the classical era, however, with a less aggressive stance. The type was probably an Etruscan creation of the 5th century B.C., based on Greek models, which lasted until the end of the Hellenistic period, when Etruria was by then incorporated into the Roman world. This statuette, despite certain anatomical stylisation and an impersonal characterisation of the face, is the result of a good artistic and technical quality. The comparison of the artwork with the group identified as ‘Trieste’ from Colonna shows that this specimen is more recent and should be dated to the end of the Hellenistic Age. These small statuettes were probably offered ex-voto by the Romano-Etruscan aristocracy of the period.

The high-handled drinking cup with carinated lower body, discoid feet and vines painted to the equator. 472 grams, 23.3 cm high



Acquired in Europe before 1994.

Comprising a tall, plain body with two rosettes; crowned by an elaborate palmette and volute design with shallow acanthus stalks and small rosettes; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 55.6 kg total, 105.5 cm high including stand (95.2 cm without stand)



Private Swiss collection, acquired in the 1980s. with Ward & Co., New York, 2014. Private American collection, K.M., circa 2015-present. Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate number S00114167, dated 2 June 2016. 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 number no.11776-204598.

These memorials, originally painted (see gravestone from Paramythion, cf. Brinkmann-Wünsche, 2004, pp.148ff.), were venerated by families, anointed with oil, decorated with ribbons, and graced with offerings of food. They rivalled each other in the increasingly ostentatious display of family status and wealth, so much so that by the end of the 4th century B.C., a sumptuary law was passed, abruptly ceasing their production. In their heyday, these stelae provided sculptors an opportunity to demonstrate their technical virtuosity with both ornamental and figural subjects. It was not unusual for the anthemion to be of higher quality than the figures sculpted and painted below it.