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LOT 2199
Theriaca 'Venice Triacle' Lead Box Lid
ITALY, VENICE, 17TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/4 in. (31 grams, 45 mm).
Discoid in plan with lip to underside, central low-relief motif of a laureate and draped Roman-style bust with a nimbate lion of St. Mark, within a band inscribed 'TERIACA F ALLA TESTA DORO IN VENET'; all within outer band containing laurel wreath.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Published in the article: Rooting Out Snakes And Fakes
FootnotesTheriaca or ‘Venice treacle’ was a medicinal compound used since the time of Mithradates VI of Pontus as an antidote against any poisonous bite.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 2199
Theriaca 'Venice Triacle' Lead Box Lid
Estimate £250 - 350€290 - 410 (for guidance only)$340 - 470 (for guidance only)
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Victorian 'Freaks Fair' Model of a Shrunken Head
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A tribal head modelled from leather with applied hair, moustache, eyebrows and eyelashes; pierced through the lips and ears; set in a later glass dome with base. 810 grams total, 20.5 cm including stand
Acquired Mellors & Kirk, circa 2019. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The freak show was the archetypal expression of popular culture, enjoyed by everyone regardless of their class. The freak show was presented to the public as entertaining and educational, offering the opportunity to learn about anatomy and the ‘realities’ of people from foreign lands. The real 'shrunken heads' known as tsantsas were severed human heads that were used by tribal cultures as war trophies or for ceremonial purposes. They were also used to scare off an enemy, using the heads as a threat, or also in religious rituals.
