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LOT 0525
Parthian Terracotta Statuette Group
3RD CENTURY B.C.
6 1/4 in. (598 grams total, 15.5 cm each).
Hollow-formed, comprising: a rider on a rearing horse with chlamys extended in the wind, and wearing wide Persian trousers (saravara), red pigment in the field; Zeus enthroned, facing with an eagle at his feet, hole to the reverse. [2]
ProvenanceEx private European collection.
with Genève Enchères, 14 December 2017, lot 863.
Cf. Bel, N., Giroire, C., Gombert, F., Rutschowscaya, M.H., L'Orient romain et byzantin au Louvre, Arles / Paris, 2012, p.224, fig.205, for identical cavalryman (Louvre AO 10221).
FootnotesThe costume of Parthian nobles consisted of a tunic or wrapped jacket, trousers and boots/footwear, generally typical of a riding dress. Interestingly, the right side of the tunic was knee-length (such as those seen om early Sassanian noblemen depicted in the Persepolis graffiti) but the left side of the tunic, for many Parthian cavalrymen, appeared shorter and only reached to the upper thigh.
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Archaic Greek Terracotta Figure of Mounted Warrior with Shield
7th-5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
The figure comprising a stylised horse with elongated neck, mounted by a bearded rider figure holding a shield; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 275 grams total, 14.5 cm high including stand
Acquired before 1990. From an old German collection.
Terracotta figurines of horse and rider were common grave offerings in Boeotia, northwest of Attica, particularly during the 6th century B.C. Representations of warriors on horseback were already widespread in the Geometric Period, and widely used in Cyprus during this period. The rider, although influenced by Cypriot designs, does not show typical Cypriot characteristics. -
Etruscan Bucchero Kantharoid Vessel
Circa 7th-6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Blackware squat cup with applied vertical flanges and lugs to the body. low everted rim, lateral strap handles with median gusset; restored. 323 grams, 16 cm wide
From the Steel family collection, 1950s-late 1990s. -
Graeco-Parthian Marble Head of a Divinity
2nd century B.C.-1st century A.D.Estimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
With elongated face and large almond-shaped eyes; braided hair with openwork topknot and socket to accept an inset stud, gathered at the rear in a chignon. 639 grams, 11.6 cm
Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private Swiss collection since 1998. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11611-199026.
Several female figures, found in the Parthian graves of Babylonia, are represented in loose attire exhibiting unusual headdresses, which give us some notion of the costume of the period. Some of them show a headgear rising into two tall conical peaks, from which a veil is suspended. Nude female figures, probably representing Assyrian Mylitta or Venus, were extremely common during the Parthian period, having been handed down from antiquity. Similar figures are universal throughout the east before the Christian era.
