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LOT 0609
Tarentine Terracotta Head
3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
2 1/2 in. (32 mm, 63 mm).
Female head from an effigy, moulded with a segmented conical cap and lateral upturned flaps on the brim. earrings visible beneath; the head slightly turned and tilted downwards on a long slender neck.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Cf. similar though larger Tarentine female head in the Metropolitan Museum under accession number: 2013.612.
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:
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Cypriot Terracotta Bowl with Bird
Late Bronze Age, 1200-750 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Broad bowl with rounded rim, central column with bird in flight finial with black painted detailing; one wing partly absent. 753 grams, 16.5 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. -
Greek Gold Figure of Nike from a Monumental Funerary Wreath
South Italian, 4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £14,040
Formed as a composite figurine comprising: hollow-formed nude female figure with left arm extended to her side and fingers curled inwards, right hand at her side, hair drawn up in a chignon surmounted by an applied beaded-wire diadem; two sub-triangular wings each attached to the shoulder blades, with repoussé feather detailing to the obverse; broad D-shaped panel attached to the waist and rear of the legs, with radiating arch detailing; supplied with a custom-made display stand. 56 grams total, 92 mm including stand
Focquaert collection, Belgium, 1970s. European private 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.12220-222337.
Similar statuettes were surmounting huge funerary wreaths, like the one from Armento (325-300 B.C. made in Southern Italy). The wreaths, composed of golden flowers, leaves, fruits, bees and Erotes, have a winged goddess, with all probability Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, as the central motif. It is possible that the wreath was given to the deceased as a prize after a successful competition, but the dimensions of the Nike show that it was an extremely rare artefact. These costly objects were financed by rich and powerful Mecenates, like Kreithonios, named in the inscription on the base of Nike from Armento. -
Greek Gold Earring with Gemstones
4th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £520
Comprising a sturdy hoop with opposed loop closure, frame of granulated gold collars and rods supporting tubular, cuboid and other beads in amethyst, pearl and other materials. 7.48 grams, 46 mm
Acquired 1960s-1990s. From the late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.