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LOT 0074
Parthian Bronze Batillum with a Reclining Banqueteer Holding a Skyphos and Rhyton
3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
10 in. (1.58 kg, 25 cm).
Comprising a square base with a raised border and supported by four stub feet, each originally surmounted by poppy-head finials (one now absent); a hollow-formed figure of a banqueteer reclining elegantly with his weight resting on his left elbow, his proper right leg drawn up beneath the folds of a finely pleated robe; in his right hand, a ram’s head rhyton and his left hand cradling a skyphos; his bearded head with a laurel wreath.
ProvenancePrivate New York collection, formed in the 1960s.
Acquired on the North American art market, 1990s.
with Cahn Auktionen AG, Basel, Switzerland, 13 November 2015, no.84 (CHF 18,000).
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.12379-226873.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. the Getty Museum, accession number 96.AC.255, for a 3rd century BC batillum decorated with a banqueteer; see also Hanfmann, G.M.A, Detweiler, A.H., ‘Report on the first Campaign on Sardis’ in Türk Arkeoloji Dergisi, Sayi: IX-1, Ankara, 1959, pp.14-19; Garnsey, P., Food and Society in Classical Antiquity, Cambridge, 1999, for discussion on Greek and Roman feasting customs.
FootnotesThe composition reflects the iconography of elite banquet culture in the ancient world, capturing both refinement and ritual in a single expressive figure. The Greek 'συμπόσιον' 'symposium' was the later part of a formal banquet which took place after the food had been consumed, when the serving of strong drink was accompanied by music, dancing, poetic composition or recital or earnest conversation. The custom has similarities with the Roman convivium and with the customs of many Mediterranean and Western Asiatic people. The Parthian Empire was culturally diverse and included many Hellenic groups; the Arsacid court adopted a range of aspects of contemporary Greek culture, among them Greek military structures and the Greek language as a lingua franca alongside the Parthian (Iranian) language and Aramaic.
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LOT 0074
Parthian Bronze Batillum with a Reclining Banqueteer Holding a Skyphos and Rhyton
Estimate £6,000 - 8,000€6,960 - 9,280 (for guidance only)$8,100 - 10,800 (for guidance only)
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Cypro-Phoenician Terracotta Jug
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
With bulbous body and broad tubular neck, angled handle to rear. 685 grams, 17.2 cm
From a London, UK, gentleman's collection of ancient pottery and artefacts, 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
BoR pottery begins to appear on the Phoenician mainland and Cyprus from the middle of the 10th century. The first ceramic horizon, which we can term 'Phase Γ of BoR distribution, continues from this period until the beginning of the 9th century (c.950 - c.890/880 BC). The destruction possibly caused by Pharaoh Shishak at various sites in the Levant has preserved assemblages of similar wares which were probably sealed in the last decades of the 10th century. -
Parthian Shallow Terracotta Tripod Dish
1st-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
A squat bowl with three stub feet and chamfered rim; repaired. 200 grams, 11 cm
Fine condition, repaired.
From an important central London collection formed since the mid 1960s; thence by descent. From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Greek Glass Gem with Quadriga
Circa 2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Ellipsoid in plane and planoconvex in section with incuse chariot, driver and horses. 1.2 grams, 20 mm
Acquired on the European art market in the early 2000s. with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
