Period: Greek

Greek Gold and Garnet Siren Earring

A GREEK GOLD AND GARNET EARRING WITH SIREN – HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.

Auction House: Christie’s
Sale Title: Antiquities
Location: London, King Street
Sale Date: Apr 02, 2014
Lot Number: 0193

Estimate: 1,000 – 2,000 British pounds
Price Realized: Unsold
Saleroom Notice: This Lot is Withdrawn.

Lot Description
A GREEK GOLD AND GARNET EARRING WITH SIREN
HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 4TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
The hoop, of spiralling wire tapering to plain wire, set with three globular garnets interspaced with gold beaded wire and granulated collars with zigzag edges, with bare-breasted winged Siren with outstretched talons
1 ¼ in. (3.3 cm.) wide

Provenance: Private collection, UK, acquired 1950s; and thence by descent.
London art market.

Source link (offline)

Greco-Persian Amethyst Pendant

A GRECO-PERSIAN AMETHYST LION
CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Depicted reclining on an integral rectangular plinth, his head turned to his left, the mane cross hatched, with small rounded ears and a carefully-detailed face, perforated through the shoulders for suspension
13/16 in. (2 cm.) long

Provenance
Antiquities, Christie’s, New York, 18 December 1998, lot 258.

Source link

Greek Gold Bracelet

A GREEK GOLD BRACELET
HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 300 B.C.
Formed from a hollow hoop fashioned from sheet, convex on the exterior, each end with a collar terminal secured by a pin, its tip with granulation, the collars each with twisted wire filigree palmettes framed by beaded, rope and twisted wires and a fringe of petals, small birds at the outer edges of the left collar, a Herakles knot at the center formed from hollow tubes with applied twisted wire filigree tendrils along their lengths, all edged with beaded, rope and twisted wire, centered by a die-formed lion running to the left, a small frontal Pan seated to the left, playing the pipes
4 7/8 in. (12.3 cm) wide

Provenance
with Nadia Kapamadji, Florange et Ciani, Paris, 1972.
Private Collection, Germany.
Acquired by the current owner, New York, 1999.

Lot Notes
For a bracelet of similar construction compare the example said to be from Taranto, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, no. 152 in D. Williams and J. Ogden, Greek Gold, Jewellery of the Classical World. The New York bracelet shares the same wide hoop, although ribbed on the exterior, with nearly identical collars similarly pinned in place, which are joined to lion heads rather than a Herakles knot as here. Herakles knots are frequently populated with applied figures; see for example the knot from a strap diadem centered by a figure of a siren, from Chersonesos, now in the Hermitage, no. 131, op. cit.

Source link

Greek Amethyst Finger Ring

A GREEK GOLD AND AMETHYST FINGER RING
HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 2ND-1ST CENTURY B.C.

Composed of two sections hinged together, the lower portion of the hoop set with a small cabochon amethyst, the hoop narrowing towards elaborate moldings below the hinge loops, the upper portion with similar moldings above the hinged loops, joined to the underside of an oblong stepped hexagon, centered by an oval box set with a large circular cabochon amethyst
1¾ in. (4.4 cm.) long; ring size 5

Source link

Earring with Nike Driving a Two-Horse Chariot

Earring with Nike driving a two-horse chariot

Greek, Northern Greek, Late Classical or Early Hellenistic Period, about 350–325 B.C.
Height: 5cm (1 15/16in.) Weight: 15.8 gm (0.03 lb.)
Gold and enamel

Earring in form of Nike driving a two-horse chariot (biga). The figures are modeled in the round and form a pendant suspended from a disc in the shape of a honeysuckle palmette. Wearing a belted chiton (tunic), a full-length skirt, and several items of jewelry, Nike leans forward, her left hand pulling on the reins of the horses, whose front legs rear sharply. The features on the goddess’s face are crisp and her expression resolute, while the animals appear startled and tense. Raised as if in flight, Nike’s elaborate, feathery, and finely chased wings provide an elegant counterbalance to the dynamic composition.

The ornament is composed of more than a hundred individual elements soldered together. The bodies of the figures are crafted from gold sheet that is embellished with wirework details and small gold balls. The honeysuckle palmette is fashioned into curved petals and circular stamens outlined with fine twisted wires; remnants of enamel survive on several of the stamens. In the center of the leaf is a tear-shaped fruit encrusted with dense gold granulation. A hoop on the underside was probably attached to an ear wire, which is now missing.

Source link

Period: Greek

Let’s be social!

Subscribe by Email

Tags