Loading, please wait...
LOT 0088
Phoenician Limestone Herakles Melqart Wearing Lionskin
CIRCA 6TH-5TH CENTURY B.C.
14 3/8 in. (1.85 kg total, 36.5 cm including stand).
Modelled in the round, standing with lionskin mantle tied around the shoulders at the chest, with girdle to the waist and knee-length tunic; left hand resting on the handle of a club; mounted on a custom-made display stand. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
Melqart was the Phoenician tutelary deity whose name means 'king of the city'; in the Roman interpretation, he was identified with Hercules.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
-
Etruscan Bronze Statuette of Herakles
4th-3rd century B.C.Estimate: £20,000 - 30,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £10,000
Modelled in the round with a muscular nude body, his club resting on his shoulder and the hair dressed in rows of tight, close-set curls underneath the 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, no.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. -
Cypriot Red Polished Ware Bowl Group
Early-Middle Bronze Age, circa 2700-1900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Group of three hemispherical bowls with burnished surface, one with old collector's inked notation 'L.S./2.60'. 1.09 kg total, 14-15 cm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. -
Cypriot Terracotta Votive Horn
2100-1850 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
Tapering round-section votive with reserved bands of dense linear hatching; repaired and mounted on a custom made display stand. 127 grams total, 18 cm high
From the celebrated personal collection of art formed by the famous anthropologist, artist, and television presenter Desmond Morris. with Christie’s, South Kensington, 14 May 2002, no.19 (part). From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Christie's catalogue pages.
