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Lot 634
A Chinese large Cong-form celadon glazed vase, potted in imitation of a Neolithic jade cong, the vase has a rectangular body of square section with a cylindrical foot and short neck, and is covered overall with a crazed green glaze stopping just short of the foot rim to expose the stoneware body, 29.5cm high
Lot 660
A small pair of Japanese bronze inlaid vases, Meiji Period, each with a cockerel on a flowering branch, signed to body, 11.5cm high; a Qajar gold damascened steel finial, in the form of a pear, decorated on the side with arabesque medallion, two leaves on the stalk,17cm high and a Chinese cinnabar lacquer type vase, 20th century, 32cm high (3)
Lot 13a
Graeco-Egyptian, ca. 6th to 5th century BCE. Expertly carved from beautiful banded alabaster, an elegant vessel presenting an inverted piriform body rising from an integral spool-shaped pedestal base, with a short, gently flaring neck resolving in a rounded rim, and finally, a goose effigy handle. Look closely and you will see the angular downturned 'neck' and upward gazing goose head with incised eyes and beak. In addition to this marvelous form, the alabaster itself is inherently beautiful - translucent when held to the light so as to present elegant diagonal wavy bands across the body of the vase. Size: 3.75" H (9.5 cm) Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Dr. Sid Port collection, California, USA, acquired in the 1970s Condition: Intact and choice! All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #146580
Lot 1a
Ancient Egypt, Pre-Dynastic Period, Naqada II, ca. 3650 to 3300 BCE. A gorgeous coil-formed Nile silt pottery vessel with a highly-burnished, russet-hued surface made with a thin iron-oxide slip. The vase has an ovoid body which rests gently upon a round yet stable foot, with a deep interior cavity, a lightly-tapering shoulder, and a rolled rim. The upper black-hued portion is comprised of thick carbon deposits formed by administering the top to thick clouds of smoke for extended periods of time in an oxygen-deprived environment. Black-topped vessels originally rose to popularity during the early Naqada I, a culture which inhabited ancient Egypt during its pre-dynastic period. The Naqada were first described by famed archaeologist William Flinders Petrie, however relatively little is known about them except that they were focused around the site of El-Amra in central Egypt, west of the Nile River. Size: 8.1" W x 11.2" H (20.6 cm x 28.4 cm).Pre-Dynastic Egyptian black-top vessels were traditionally made from silt deposits taken from the Nile river due to their abundance in iron and silica. After the pot had dried but before it was fired, it would first be burnished and rubbed smooth with a small stone to create the pinstripe vertical striations still visible today. An iron-rich slip would then be applied just before firing; when placed in an oxygen-rich environment, the elevated temperatures would create the vessels' signature red-orange hue.After the end of the Naqada III period around 3,000 BCE, the use of Nile silt in pottery creations fell out of favor with the Pre-Dynastic Egyptians. This is due to the increase in popularity of marl clay, a newly-discovered material for creating terracotta objects which was easier to shape and enabled firing at far greater temperatures than the highly-porous silt.For a stylistically-similar example, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 15.2.16: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/551844This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase. Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Mississippi, USA collection; ex-Louis Di Lauro collection, acquired in 2002; ex-Peter Rose collection, (Phoenix, Arizona; New Mexico; and New York, New York, USA), acquired at auction in 1948 Condition: Area of repair and restoration to upper body near shoulder, with stabilization to several fissures, with resurfacing and overpainting along break lines. Small nicks and abrasions to rim, body, and base, with fading to original pigmentation, small excisions along exterior, and light encrustations. Light earthen deposits throughout. Two TL drill holes: one inside rim, and one beneath base. All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #146342
Lot 20c
Ancient Greece, Hellenistic, ca. 3rd to 1st century BCE. A striking core-formed glass alabastron, so named because many vessels that assumed this form were made of alabaster. This piece is comprised of a very deep blue glass with white trailing combed into a feathered or swagged pattern to adorn the walls, and elegant spirals of white tracing the cylindrical neck, the flared flattened rim, as well as the lower tapering section of the body. The petite lug handles to each side are solid dark blue. A divine work of glass art to be treasured for its impeccable form, beautiful hues, and sophisticated technique. Size: 4.625" H (11.7 cm); 5.125" H (13 cm) on included custom stand.The alabastron is a long-bodied vessel with a rounded bottom, a cylindrical neck, and a flat disk for a mouth. Though usually without handles, some alabastra have eyes or lugs, like this example. According to the Beazley Archive of the University of Oxford, the alabastron shape's history extends back to Corinth, but was only preserved in Athenian pottery examples back to the mid-sixth century BCE. Alabastra were created in many materials, including alabaster, and the Greek term for this stone - alabastron (most likely of Egyptian origin) - was the source of inspiration for the name of this shaped vessel. Many examples were finished with a white ground, as if to imitate this stone. We know from vase painting imagery of women using alabastra following a bath, that these vessels most likely held perfumed oils.According to the Corning Museum of Glass, core forming is "the technique of forming a vessel by winding or gathering molten glass around a core supported by a rod. After forming, the object is removed from the rod and annealed. After annealing, the core is removed by scraping." (https://www.cmog.org/glass-dictionary/core-forming). This process of glass making was begun in the late 16th century BCE by glassmakers of Mesopotamia, and then adopted by Egyptian glassmakers in the 15th century BCE. The technique almost came to an end in the so-called Dark Ages of Mediterranean civilization (1200 to 900 BCE); however, by the 9th century BCE a new generation of glassmakers took up the technique once again, and between the 6th and 4th century BCE core-forming spread throughout the Mediterranean.A Greek Hellenistic core-formed glass alabastron sold for 6,875 GBP (~$9467) at Christie's London - Antiquities 14 April 2011, Lot 153. Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Martin J. Wunsch collection, New York, USA, 1980s Condition: Minor surface wear and minute losses to trailing commensurate with age - otherwise superb. White mineral deposits on the interior surface. Nice areas of silvery iridescence. All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #146570
Lot 20d
Greece, Hellenistic, c. 3rd to 2nd century BCE. A stupendous - dare I say PERFECT - core-formed glass amphoriskos used by the ancients to hold perfumed oil. This vessel boasts an exceptionally elegant form with a piriform body, twin trail handles joining the shoulders to the long tubular neck which rises to an everted, disk rim, all upon a droplet shaped globule. The decoration of this piece is simply breathtaking. Note how the deep cobalt blue body is wound with golden tangerine orange-yellow thread-like trails applied in a close-knit zigzag or feathered pattern around the body. Threadlike horizontal golden trails also encircle the shoulder, neck, lower body, and rim (the disc form of which is actually aubergine in color). A divine work of glass art to be treasured for its impeccable form, beautiful hues, and sophisticated technique. Size: 5.9" H (15 cm); 6.125" H (15.6 cm) on included custom stand.Core-formed glass represents one of the earliest and most widely-used forms of glass manufacture in the ancient world. The production of glass objects seems to have originated in western Asia around 1500 BCE, followed by an explosion in the Egyptian industry in the fifteenth century BCE. At around the same time, glass begins to be mentioned in written sources from Mesopotamia, suggesting its growing popularity. However, it was the Greeks and Romans who perfected the technology of glass making and considered it an art form. In around the middle of the sixth century, a technological breakthrough led to the creation of the first glass vessels and allowed the industry to become established in its own right. This was the core-forming technique, which was to remain the dominant method for the creation of vessels in the ancient world until the advent of glass-blowing in the first century BCE.The technique involved shaping a core of clay and sand in the form of the vessel around a metallic rod. Then, molten glass was either trailed onto the core using a tool, or from dipping the core directly into a container of molten glass. To achieve a smooth surface, the vessel was continually reheated and rolled on a flat slab. Finally, the metallic rod was removed and, once the vessel had slowly cooled down, the core material was scraped out. The trailing of the vessel in molten glass led to aesthetically pleasing decorations in zigzag or feather patterns, in favoured colours of turquoise, white, cobalt blue, yellow and brown, like the present piece. This delicate and intricate technique limited the size of the vessel; as such, these objects were often miniature forms of well-known vase types, designed to hold perfumes, scented oils and cosmetics. The present example is unusual for its scale, and for its exquisite state of preservation, maintaining a vivid and shiny surface. The name of the vessel means 'little amphora', derived from the traditional vessel used to store wine or oil. Glass continued to remain a luxury material, although the production of small vessels for daily use extended its reach to a greater audience. The Hellenistic period, spanning the era from the conquests of Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) to the inception of Roman imperial rule at the end of the first century BCE, was characterized by its love of luxury items created by master craftsmen for an increasingly affluent society. Glassmaking in its current form reached the pinnacle of its manufacture, with the exploration of different techniques and increasingly beautiful designs and forms.These core-formed miniature vessels of the period capture a rare glimpse of this extraordinary epoch and represent the last of their kind; the discovery of glassblowing in the Syro-Palestinian region in the first century BCE eclipsed the core-forming technique to become the preferred method of glass production for centuries to come.A core-formed amphoriskos of similar scale and design is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. 17.194.597, second to mid-first century BCE).Cf: H. Tait, ed., Five Thousand Years of Glass, (London, 1991); On glass production in the Hellenistic Age, J. Henderson, Ancient Glass: An Interdisciplinary Exploration (Cambridge, 2013) pp. 203-226. Provenance: private Connecticut, USA collection; ex private UK collection (EMW), 1960s Condition: Intact and superb! Choice indeed! All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #146726
Lot 25
Greek, Athens (Attic), ca. 5th century BCE. A precious Attic red-figured lekythos of a classic form decorated with a finely painted sphinx on the body, egg-and-dart pattern on the shoulder, a black band beneath the red rim, a black lower body with a fine-line black band at the upper end of the otherwise red foot. Lekythoi were used for storing oil used for a wide variety of purposes in the Classical World. While larger examples were usually designated for keeping olive oil, smaller more delicate examples like this were reserved for the bath to store precious unguents of sweet and floral aromas. Size: 3.6" H (9.1 cm)Perhaps the most exciting innovation in Greek vase painting was the red-figure technique, invented in Athens around 525 BCE and beloved by other artists of Magna Graecia. The red-figure technique allowed for much greater flexibility as opposed to the black-figure technique, for now the artist could use a soft, pliable brush rather than a rigid metal graver to delineate interior details, play with the thickness of the lines, as well as build up or dilute glazes to create chromatic effects. The painter would create figures by outlining them in the natural red of the vase, and then enrich these figural forms with black lines to suggest volume, at times perspectival depth, and movement, bringing those silhouettes and their environs to life. Provenance: private Owen collection, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA, acquired in the 1990s from a US-based dealer Condition: Minor surface wear commensurate with age. Minute nicks to rim, periphery of shoulder, and foot. Otherwise excellent, and imagery is strong. All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #146035
Lot 34
Magna Graecia, Apulian, ca. 4th century BCE. A stunning red-figured skyphos with an impressive iconographic and decorative program. Side A features a winged Eros standing in composite profile and gazing into the mirror he holds in his right hand. The god of love is beautifully adorned with a beaded sash and thigh band, double wristlets, sandals, and a beaded headdress. Side B features a maiden donning a peplos with cascading drapery folds. She also holds a mirror in her right hand and a ribbon-adorned tympanum in her left. There is a filet to her lower left and a cask to her upper right. Below the handles are beautiful stylized palmettes and just below the rim on both sides is a stylish egg-and-dart band. Fine details are executed in fugitive white and yellow pigment. Size: 6.5" W handlespan x 4.25" H (16.5 cm x 10.8 cm)Perhaps the most exciting innovation in Greek vase painting was the red-figure technique, invented in Athens around 525 BCE and beloved by other artists of Magna Graecia. The red-figure technique allowed for much greater flexibility as opposed to the black-figure technique, for now the artist could use a soft, pliable brush rather than a rigid metal graver to delineate interior details, play with the thickness of the lines, as well as build up or dilute glazes to create chromatic effects. The painter would create figures by outlining them in the natural red of the vase, and then enrich these figural forms with black lines to suggest volume, at times perspectival depth, and movement, bringing those silhouettes and their environs to life. Beyond this, fugitive pigments made it possible for the artist to create additional layers of interest and detail as we see in this example. Provenance: private Owen collection, Sussex County, New Jersey, USA, acquired in the 1990s from a US-based dealer Condition: One stable fissure from rim to shoulder beside one handle. Tiny nick above the mirror that Eros holds. Tiny nick to rim and two minute fissures below egg-and-dart beneath this and to the right of the maiden; possible repair below these, though very difficult to see. Otherwise, normal surface wear and surface deposits commensurate with age and imagery is still vivid. All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #146030
Lot 40f
Classical World, Etruria, ca. 5th century BCE. Skillfully cast via the lost wax (cire perdue) technique, a sizeable and finely decorated bronze vessel handle, cast with an elegant veiled head in high relief at the upper end of the grip, facing outward from the lateral rim attachment which presents 'beaded' circular terminals with incised flower blossoms on the faces at either end. At the lower terminal of the handle grip is a stylized leaf or palmette form. Size: 4.875" H (12.4 cm); 6.625" H (16.8 cm) on included custom stand.This handle was probably created for a hydria. The hydria - a vessel used primarily for fetching and pouring water - derives its name from the Greek word for "water". Vase painters oftentimes depicted hydriai, painting scenes of ladies carrying water from a fountain. Two horizontal handles extending from hydriai were used for lifting and a vertical handle at the back was used for pouring and dipping. Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection Condition: Small loss to lower palmette terminal and periphery of one perforation at upper end of handle. Minute old nicks to peripheries that are difficult to see. Bronze has developed an attractive green patina. All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #146599
Lot 44
Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st century CE. A special fresco fragment depicting the torso of Venus (Greek Aphrodite), nude save a swath of drapery falling from her shoulder to hips, and posed with her right arm gracefully lifted. The body is naturalistically rendered with supple flesh, perky breasts, navel, and harmonious anatomical ratios. The artist was particularly skilled at creating chiaroscuro light effects to model her curvaceous figure which stands out against the rich red background. This beautiful fresco section is not only set upon a stand but also housed within a black wooden pedestaled display case, faced on both sides with beveled glass. Size: 6.125" W x 4.75" H (15.6 cm x 12.1 cm); 6.625" H (16.8 cm) on included custom stand. Glass-fronted display case measures 3.25" L x 11.375" W x 15" H (8.3 cm x 28.9 cm x 38.1 cm)The ancient fresco technique involved applying saturated pigments into wet lime-rich plaster, and only the wealthiest, most elite Romans adorned their houses with these elaborate wall paintings which required immense skill to create. Art historians have identified four styles of wall painting. This example aligns closest with the Second Pompeiian Style - also known as the architectural style - which was popular during the 1st century BCE. This style was characterized by illusionism whereby the walls were painted with architectural elements framing compositions that fooled the eye into believing they were real via a trompe l'oeil effects. While we cannot see architectural elements given the size of this fragment, the artist of this piece successfully achieved naturalism in the visual imagery via subtle tonal changes, modeling the figure with color and shading, and suggesting depth with foreshortening.Another aspect of Roman wall painting to appreciate are the brilliant colors which contrast with the white hues of surviving ancient marble sculpture. Scholars have demonstrated that classical sculptures were actually originally brightly painted; however, the pigments have worn away over the ages. Thankfully, ancient wall paintings demonstrate the bold coloration that embellished ancient visual culture. What's more, while some of the most impressive artists of the Classical world were painters, sadly, many of their creations were painted on wood panels and have disappeared due to the perishable nature of this material. Thankfully, other forms of Classical art such as vase paintings, mosaics, and even a few fresco fragments like this example - many surviving from Pompeii and Herculaneum buried under the ash of a volcanic eruption in the year 79 CE - have survived the tests of time and can provide a means of understanding ancient painting techniques.Published in P. Grimal & E. Kossakowski, Pompei, Demeures secretes, Paris, 1992, no. 54. Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection, acquired at Pierre Berge & Associes, Archeologie auction, Paris, 29 November 2014, lot 264; Published in P. Grimal & E. Kossakowski, Pompei, Demeures secretes, Paris, 1992, no. 54. Condition: A section from a larger fresco. Expected surface wear with scuffs and pigment loss commensurate with age. Edges and verso are not smooth. Mineral deposits scattered across peripheries and verso as well. Pierre Berge & Associes auction house label attached to the stand. All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #145986
Lot 82
Ancient Central Asia, Bactria, ca. 2nd millennium BCE. A tall and beautiful vase of a cylindrical form with a flat base, a lightly-corseted body, a deep drilled-out interior cavity, and an everted rim. The vessel is skillfully carved from creamy honey-yellow alabaster with natural light-brown, dark-brown, and cream-hued veining coursing throughout the composition. Alabaster is a material prized by sculptors because of its relative softness and ease for being shaped. The translucency of the stone also provides for a wonderful aesthetic, and the veins within are illuminated when held against a bright light. Size: 4.6" W x 7.8" H (11.7 cm x 19.8 cm).A stylistically-similar example of a larger size hammered for $18,000 at Christie's, New York Antiquities auction (sale 1846, June 8, 2007, lot 56): https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/a-bactrian-alabaster-vessel-circa-late-3rd-early-4921170-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=4921170&sid=e513d875-563b-41f8-8f4a-41288487e298 Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Hirsch collection, Germany Condition: Small area of repair to top of rim. Minor chips to rim and base, with light encrustations across interior and exterior. Nice earthen deposits throughout. Old inventory label beneath base. All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #146134
Lot 325
A WORCESTER PORCELAIN VASE CIRCA 1758-62 of slender ovoid form with waisted neck painted in Meissen style with scattered flower sprays sprigs insects and a cob Zorensky collection label 17.5cm high very fine body crack probably lacking cover Provenance: Milton and Jeanne Zorensky St Louis U.S.A.; Bonham’s London The Zorensky Collection Part III 22 February 2006 lot 41 Literature: Simon Spero and John Sandon ‘Worcester Porcelain 1751-1790 The Zorensky Collection’ Woodbridge 1996 Fig.81
Lot 336
A PAIR OF BRONZE AND BRASS ‘STORK’ CANDLESTICKS THOMAS ABBOTT BIRMINGHAM SECOND QUARTER 19TH CENTURY the opposing birds with crown collars each holding leafage below a leafy pan and foliate vase-shaped sconce on rocky mound bases with metal weights 40cm high Thomas Abbott listed as a |Lamp Maker and Brass Founder| of Birmingham in his will dated 12 March 1849 is primarily known for two patterns of wading bird candlesticks the present example and another of herons with fish in their beaks supporting similar pans and sconces and on the same mound bases. These are normally stamped ‘Abbott’ to the weighting under the bases probably replaced in the present lot.
Lot 376
AN ITALIAN FOUR-PIECE TEA AND COFFEE SET CALEGARO MODERN in Empire style spun vase-shaped bodies with formal leaf borders comprising: teapot coffee pot milk jug and sugar bowl and cover stamped ‘800’ the coffee pot 28.7cm high 1385gr; together with a matching electroplate tray Calegaro oval two handled 49.2cm wide over handles (5)
Lot 461
A GEORGE III SILVER AND LATER CHASED COVERED VASE MAKER’S MARK INDECIPHERABLE LONDON 1772 the ogee body later chased with bold ribs between shaped panels of fruit and foliage on a matted ground the hinged lid similarly decorated below a cast flame finial the short pedestal foot with bands of foliage 21.5cm high 676gr (21oz)
Lot 49
A CHINESE GREEN JADE ‘BAMBOO’ VASE naturalistically carved as a section of bamboo with a leafy shoot carved in high relief forming a handle the stone of olive-green tone with caramel inclusions 11.5cm high Provenance: Swiss Private Collection of Chinese Jades: sold for the benefit of Mission Bambini. See lot 23 for further information on the charity.
Lot 70
A JAPANESE IMARI CHARGER MEIJI PERIOD (1868-1912) fluted centrally painted with a vase of flowers against a ground filled with ho-o birds and flowers 47cm diameter; together with a Japanese Imari large bowl Meiji period painted with panels of shishi against an elaborate ground 31cm diameter some damage (2)
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