Loading, please wait...
LOT 0058
Scythian Mirror with Crouching Stag
5TH-4TH CENTURY B.C.
12 3/8 in. (570 grams, 31.5 cm).
Discoid body with raised rim; ribbed column-like handle with a kneeling stag above, supporting the mirror with its large antlers.
ProvenanceMr M.B., Mainz, Germany, since the 1960s.
Acquired from the above, 2007.
Private collection, London.
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 no.12182-221464.
Cf. Loehr, M., ‘The Stag Image in Schythia and the Far East’ in Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America, Vol. 9 (1955), pp. 63-76; Trofimova, A., Greeks on the Black Sea: Ancient Art from the Hermitage, J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007, item 29j; see also Leypunskaya, N. A., Olbian-Scythian Trade: Exchange Issues in the Sixth to Fourth Centuries BC, Oxford, 2007.
FootnotesBronze mirrors of this type with zoomorphic handles, were widespread in the Scythian archaeology of the Northern Black Sea Region, Northern Caucasus and Carpathian Basin. Handles were often decorated with sculptured depictions of rams, feline predators or deer (stag). The similarity with Scythian art is clearly visible by comparing the stag of our mirror with the stags from the Scythian steppe culture (Loehr, 1955, figs.5,6,10,13-21).
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.
LOT 0058
Scythian Mirror with Crouching Stag
Estimate £2,000 - 3,000€2,320 - 3,480 (for guidance only)$2,700 - 4,050 (for guidance only)
-
Hellenistic Ribbed Rock Crystal Bowl
3rd-2nd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,600
Of squat profile, with circumferential band of vertical ribbing to the exterior wall, broad flat rim incorporating two shallow lateral blocks, pierced vertically to accept a handle. 148 grams, 82 mm wide
Acquired from Galerie Serres, Paris, before 1980. Formerly in a French private collection. H.B. collection since 2012. Private collection, England. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12312-215584.
Glassmaking and glass-working were considered to be two separate crafts and took place in different regions during the Hellenistic period. Each craft was characterised by its own technological tradition, know-how and equipment. Glassmakers and glassworkers did not need to have an understanding of glass vessel manufacture and primary production respectively in order to carry out their tasks. Glassmaking had to take place as close as possible to the sources of the raw materials used, namely sand and mineral natron. Raw glass was traded throughout the Mediterranean in the form of ingots and it was then worked and shaped into vessels, inlays, jewellery, etc, in various locations. A lot of glass production took place on the Syro-Palestinian coast as well as the broader Levant and Egypt, with centres of manufacture in the royal capitals of Antioch and Alexandria. The reputation of the Alexandrian workshop is well-understood from luxury glass vessels decorated with Egyptian-style buildings or characteristic scenes found as far away as Italy and Afghanistan. -
Etruscan Blackware Impasto Vase
8th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Biconical with a tapering cylindrical neck and two handles, raised ribbing around the shoulder. 550 grams, 15 cm wide
Ex private Mister X. (1931-2017) collection. Sold in the benefit of the 'Croix-Rouge of Monaco'. -
Large Cypriot Red Ware Terracotta Bowl
Late Bronze Age, circa 1450-1200 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Broad squat bowl with dished profile, rounded rim, single pierced ledge handle; with inked inscription to base: 'L.S / 726'. 1.32 kg, 28.5 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.
