CQ1Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2019English EditionSpartans and SerpentsIconographic Features of a Laconian KourosBy Lillian Bartlett StonerThe Laconian patera handle presented by Jean-David Cahn in CQ 4/2018, possesses some notable iconographic features which are discussed here by Lillian B. Stoner: Standing starkly upright, the youth holds aloft two serpents (fig. 1). His powerful muscula-Discovered for you (I)ture is tensed, with massive buttocks, thighs, and calves standing in sharp contrast to the slender waist. Incised lines delineate the tho-rax, with the segmented abdominal muscles likewise sharply defined. The nipples, knees, and toes are further indicated by means of incision. In contrast, the facial features have EditorialWorking Together Instead of Against Each Other Dear readers The Swiss Federal Office of Culture (SFOC) has been harshly criticised over the past few months, amongst other things because of the incident in which the SFOC presented the Egyptian Ambassador in Bern with a number of objects that it deemed to be Egyptian cultur-al treasures but which were in fact cheap repli-cas for tourists. In reaction to this blunder, Na-tional Councillors Daniela Schneeberger and Alfred Heer each submitted a parliamentary interpellation in December 2018. Furthermore, the Federal President, Alain Berset, had to an-swer questions posed during Question Time by National Councillor Natalie Rickli. This regret-table incident is, unfortunately, only the tip of the iceberg, and I am deeply concerned that over the past few years it has become extreme-ly difficult to reach an understanding between the SFOC and the Swiss art trade. One reason for this is that the federal authority has interpreted the Cultural Property Transfer Act (CPTA) in an increasingly idiosyncratic manner: Without reviewing their content and validity precise-ly, it has simply passed on demands made by foreign authorities to the cantonal authorities. Goods have been confiscated and have then had to be returned after the court ascertained that there was insufficient evidence to warrant this procedure. Cantonal decisions based on the careful examination of the issue at hand have been queried by the SFOC and the fed-eral authority is increasingly exerting pressure on the autonomy of the cantonal authorities. The SFOC should not treat the Swiss art trade as suspect a priori, however; especially as the trade has to contend with increasingly diffi-cult economic conditions. There is, as a result, a certain degree of speechlessness. I would greatly welcome it if the SFOC could put aside ideological considerations when implementing the existing law (CPTA) and if it could return to a culture of mutual understanding with the Swiss art trade. Weblinks: Interpellation Schneeberger: www.parlament.ch/de/ratsbetrieb/suche-curia-vista/geschaeft?Affai-rId=20184322 Interpellation Heer: www.parlament.ch/de/ratsbetrieb/suche-curia-vista/geschaeft?Affai-rId=20184326 Question Time Rickli: www.parlament.ch/de/ratsbetrieb/suche-curia-vista/geschaeft?Affai-rId=20185725 Question Time Rickli-Berset: www.parla-ment.ch/de/ratsbetrieb/amtliches-bulletin/amtliches-bul-letin-die-verhandlungen?SubjectId=44905.A snapshot from the days of constructive cooperation: Dr. Jean-Frédéric Jauslin, then director of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, speaking at the opening ceremony at the celebration of the centenary of the Swiss Association of Dealers in Art and Antiques (2011).CQ2Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2019a more plastically modelled, additive quality, with fleshy lips and bulbous nose applied to the smooth planes of the face, which tapers to a narrow chin. The almond-shaped eyes are positioned under a heavy triangular brow, with irises faintly rendered. A great deal of attention has been lavished on the presen-tation of the youth’s hair. Over the brow, the long hair is arranged in vertical undulations. At the crown of the head it is pulled smoothly against the scalp to emerge in a rectangular mass at the nape of the neck, where it takes on even more ornamental form: pleated hor-izontally and gathered with a beaded fillet to terminate in slim vertical locks between the shoulder blades. Stylistic considerations make it possible to lo-cate the place and period of manufacture. The almost architecturally conceived anatomy - with massive calves, thighs, and buttocks, and lozenge-shaped kneecaps - is strikingly similar to that of Kleobis and Biton, the pair of Archa-ic kouroi dedicated at Delphi and thought to have been produced by a Peloponnesian (like-ly Argive) workshop around ca. 580 B.C. The almost additive quality of the facial features finds a good parallel to Laconian (Spartan) bronzes of the period, in particular a bronze head attributed by Conrad Stibbe to a work-shop of the late 7th century B.C. (see fig 2).1 Our youth once served as the horizontal handle of a patera – a shallow circular vessel used for pouring wine libations across the Greek world. The bodies of two serpents are applied to the upper surface of a frame into which the vessel’s rim would have been slotted, with a rectangular tongue providing support for the patera’s edge.The positioning of the ser-pents’ heads over the rim of the patera brings to mind the rare and geographically ex-ceptional scenes of the “tip-pling serpent” motif devel-oped almost exclusively in Spartan workshops and con-texts, from the 6th century B.C. Stone reliefs and terra-cotta plaques showing the unusual sight of snakes ex-tending their bodies towards large cups of wine held by dedicants, have been linked most convincingly with the thriving hero cults of the region, fortuitously blend-ing the serpents' traditional association with the under-world and chthonic powers with their enjoyment of the proffered wine.2 The motif appears on bronze vessels (of which Sparta was briefly an acknowledged centre of production in the 6th cen-tury B.C.), with the serpent integrated into the rim or handle, so that the sculpted serpents would actually be seen to be tippling from the supply of wine within. Form-ing the rim of a patera, the snakes of our handle would have seemed to be drinking deeply from wine at the very moment before the libation was poured, in this case like-ly in honour of a hero. This performative aspect of the vessel in turn emphasizes the athletic physique of the young man, as the individual holding the pa-tera would have grasped the powerful muscu-lature of the buttocks and thighs forming the handle. While the appreciation of the nude male form was widespread in Archaic and Classical Greece, stylistic and iconograph-ical considerations suggest that our bronze was produced in a Laconian workshop in the second quarter of the 6th century B.C., and this has some bearing on his musculature, as well as the artist’s obvious interest in the youth’s hair. The cultivation of the male body during adolescence was crucial to this soci-ety of aristocratic warriors, and took place by means of a grueling training regimen over several years with the overall intent of sym-bolically separating youths in terms of class and gender, eventually creating disciplined, fearsome warriors. Controlling and disciplining the body and spirit was the primary objective during this formative transition in a young man’s life (ap-Fig. 1: A BRONZE PATERA HANDLE IN THE FORM OF A YOUTH. H. 21 cm. Bronze. Greek, Laconian, ca. 570 B.C. Price on requestFig. 2: A LACONIAN HEAD OF A GODDESS. H. 5.7 cm. Bronze. Greek, Laconian, ca. 640-630 B.C. CHF 4,500proximately between the ages of 12 and 20), when aristocratic adolescents spent long pe-riods in the wilderness, and were periodical-ly deprived of clothing and food other than what they could steal or kill. The chiseled ab-dominals and impressive musculature of our bronze youth plausibly reflect the physical achievements expected of graduates of this stern school. For Spartan men, wearing the hair long was a prerogative only of those who successfully completed this formative train-ing, symbolically marking those accepted into the warrior class, and was a style they were expected to maintain for the rest of their lives. Our youth’s long and intricately coiffed hair can be read as a more abstract expression of the psychological and physical rigours expect-ed of an adult Spartan. The form of the bronze perfectly suits its function – a taut, trained youth on the brink of adulthood, and poised to offer libations to his heroic forebears.1 Cat. no. 1, pl. 25, 1-4, in: C. M. Stibbe, “Frauen und Löwen. Eine Untersuchung zu den Anfängen der Lako-nischen Bronzeindustrie.” Sonderdruck aus JbMusMainz 43 (1996) 355-381.2 G. Salapata, “The Tippling Serpent in the Art of Lako-nia and Beyond.” Hesperia 75 (2006) 541-560. CQ3Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2019used in Athens probably as a special minting following Syracuse’s victory over the Atheni-ans in 413 B.C. The large coin provided plenty of room for variations in relief depth, more dynamic figures and, for the first time ever on coins, images drawn in perspective to face the viewer. Kimon’s frontal view of Arethusa, Eu-ainetos’ quadriga and Eukleidas’ three-quarter images of the gods undoubtedly echo recent developments in sculpture. Euainetos began his decadrachm series in 405 B.C., prompted presumably by Dionysios’ expansionist cam-paigns. So self-confident were the master die cutters that their work sometimes bears signa-tures, which have been of great assistance to modern numismatists in their efforts to attri- bute unsigned coins. The unsigned decadrachm now on offer at the Cahn Gallery has thus been attributed to Euainetos. True to tradition – harking back to the past, so to speak – the obverse fea-tures a quadriga, albeit now as a ‘snapshot’ of a chariot race. The horses and chariot-eer are organically proportioned. The finely modelled steeds gallop ahead so energetically that scarcely a single hind hoof touches the ground. Captured in perspective, the chariot seems almost to be driving out of the picture, as if it were just at that moment rounding the turning post. The charioteer leans for-wards, holding the reins taut and goading on his team with his kentron. Nike, meanwhile, prepares to crown him. In the exergue, a pan-oply of arms, specifically a cuirass, greaves and helmet, are deposited on a platform. From Polis to KingdomCoins – Symbols of Power or Identity? (Part 2)By Gerburg LudwigOur discussion in CQ 4/2018 centred on coins as symbols of identity, as a means by which the polis could present its own self-image. Here, we shall again turn our attention to Syr-acuse, whose coinage surpasses that of all the other Greek poleis in both quantity and vari-ety. Die cutting in Syracuse reached a climax towards the end of the 5th century B.C. when it was embedded in a series of historically momentous, in some cases turbulent, events: the toppling of a tyrant, a lengthy democratic intermezzo, domestic tensions and an upris-ing by the indigenous Sicels. Syracuse’s con-stant striving for hegemony brought it into conflict with other poleis. Athens hastened to their aid, but its interventions ended in fail-ure (as in the Sicilian Expedition of 415–413 B.C., Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War 6-8,1). Syracuse’s chief strategist Dionysios became the next tyrant (405–367 B.C.) after putting a stop to the Carthaginians’ expan-sionist ventures (409–405 B.C.). He cultivated a monarchical style of rule and with the aid of mercenaries and the right equipment ini-tiated expansionist campaigns in both Sici-ly and Lower Italy. That he had to use every possible means at his disposal to raise funds for these is reflected in the issue of new coins. It was against this backdrop that the era of the great die cutters of Syracuse began in ca. 425/420 B.C. The most outstanding of them, masters such as Kimon, Euainetos and Euklei-das, achieved a fascinating blend of precision and artistic licence. Kimon introduced the decadrachm (worth ten drachmae) hitherto Fig. 1-2: DECADRACHM, DIONYSIOS I. W. 40 g. Dm. max. 3.3 cm. Silver. Attributed to the die cutter Euainetos. Sicily, Syracuse, 405-395 B.C. CHF 38,000Discovered for you (II)The Arethusa portrait on the reverse looks softly feminine. Her tied-up hair is a mass of ringlets and curls, adorned with slender reeds. Her deep-set eyes, pursed lips, heavy chin and Venus folds on the neck read like a paraphrase of a sculpture. Encircling the head in the op-posite direction, and somewhat asymmetri-cally, are four dolphins, one of them directly below the base of the neck. The motifs and quality of the decadrachm allow it to be at-tributed to Syracuse even without an ethnicon as inscription. Euainetos upheld the traditional iconography of the polis, but added the arms, whether as war booty or as the prize await-ing the victor of the race or contest. Perhaps the coin reflects the expansionist ambitions of Dionysios I. This decadrachm was still being minted right up to 393 B.C. and was frequent-ly imitated even after that. Euainetos was held in high esteem as a model die cutter in the workshops of Sicily, Lower Italy, Greece itself, Crete and Iberia. But in Syracuse, the era of the great masters ended once the minting of these artfully designed decadrachmae ceased. Dionysios I’s expansionist policies and esca-lating conflicts with rival poleis as well as the Carthaginians led to the decline of many local mints in Sicily’s autonomous commu-nities, though not in Syracuse itself. Even ancient authors judged the rule of Dionysios I to be a textbook example of tyranny (Aris-totle, Politiká 1305a 26-28; Diodor 13, 96,4). His manner of exercising power anticipated the Hellenistic style of rule and marked a first step on the road to kingship, albeit under the cover of the polis, as the decadrachmae show. Imprint PublisherJean-David Cahn Malzgasse 23 CH-4052 Basel +41 61 271 67 55 mail@cahn.ch www.cahn.chISSN 2624-6376EditorsJean-David Cahn Yvonne YiuAuthorsJean-David CahnMartin FlasharUlrike HaaseTomas LochmanGerburg LudwigLillian Bartlett Stoner Yvonne YiuTranslationsYvonne YiuBronwen SaundersPhotosNiklaus BürginUlrike HaaseDesign and LayoutMichael JoosPrinterDruckerei Deiner www.druckerei-deiner.deCQ4Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2019Plaster Casts and Photography: Contrary or Complementary?afforded only those who have access to the original – or to a plaster cast, since a cast can certainly substitute for the original with respect to plasticity, scale and spatial impact. All the major sculpture experts of the second half of the nineteenth century were aware of this crucial advantage, which is why so many universities all over the German-speaking world began amassing their own collections of plaster casts at around that time. Meanwhile, the still nascent medium of photography was increasingly being placed in the service of archaeological research. It was precisely the contrariness of these two media, the plaster cast and photography, that made them so perfectly complementary for By Tomas LochmanThe DebateIn his excellent article for CQ 4/2018, Detlev Kreikenbom reviewed the important role played by photography in the way ancient sculpture is studied and shared and how it has developed over the years. The author’s conclusion, that an image “can never be a valid substitute for the original – but sometimes it is more beautiful”, echoes the words of Jacob Burckhardt, for whom the then relatively new medium of photography became an indispensable tool. It also addresses what is at the heart of the relationship between photography and sculpture, which strictly speaking rests on a contradiction. For while a two-dimensional visual medium can never really do justice to a work of art that was created in the round and is best appreciated in the round, the fact is that it was photography’s capacity to simplify ancient sculpture that made it an object of scientific study in the first place. By collapsing a three-dimensional object into a flat, two-dimensional image, it not only enabled others to share highly complex monuments, but it also made those monuments easier to read, or if you will, “more beautiful”. To fully understand a three-dimensional work of art, however, the viewer must be able to contemplate it not just from one vantage point, but from as many different angles as possible. Such scrutiny, alas, is Fig. 3: Plaster casts in comparison: Bust of Hermes of Olympia and the head of the Pouring Athlete in Mu-nich, from: R. Kekulé, Über den Kopf des praxitelischen Hermes (1881) pl. 2.the study of sculpture. Casts facilitated further investigation and practical experiments, while photographs provided a powerful means of communicating the findings obtained. Among the scholars to apply a method that combined the two was the German archaeol-ogist Reinhard Kekulé von Stradonitz (1839–1911), the scion of a Bohemian noble family. He backed up his studies of original sculp-tures with photographs of plaster casts which in the interests of objectivity he had photo-graphed under identical conditions (figs. 1, 3). Especially interesting is his essay of 1867 in which he published a head replica of the Apollo Belvedere that the Karlsruhe sculptor Carl Steinhäuser had discovered in a stonema-son’s workshop in Rome just the previous year (along with two other Roman head replicas of well-known Greek masterpieces: the Farnese Hercules by Lysippos and the Discobolos of Myron). Steinhäuser himself had already spot-ted the affinity between his head of Apollo and that of the Belvedere statue. He had even furnished the head with a bust, added a nose and restored other minor losses, using the Apollo Belvedere as his model. He also made plaster casts documenting both the original and the restored state, which Kekulé then pro-ceeded to compare. His first comparison was between the cast of the restored bust and a cast of the Vatican Apollo, the photographs of which, taken from exactly the same angle and with an identical fall of light, allowed him to point out the similarities. In a later essay, he went a stage further, this time comparing a cast of the unrestored head and a cast of the head of the Belvedere statue, from which he had first had all those parts that were missing from Steinhäuser’s head cut away. The com-parison facilitated by this process of adapting the casts to make them resemble each other as closely as possible and then photographing them under the same conditions is remarkable (fig. 1). By exploiting to the full the advantag-es of a plaster cast as well as the possibilities of photography, Kekulé was able to prove that Steinhäuser’s head really was another replica of the Apollo Belvedere. That the Antiquarische Gesellschaft Basel was able to acquire this head of Apollo to-gether with Steinhäuser’s two other heads in Rome in 1868 was an extraordinary stroke Fig. 1: Casts of Steinhäuser’s head and the head of the Apollo Belvedere (with material removed), from: R. Kekulé, Archäologische Zeitung 36, 1878, pl. 2. Fig. 2: Steinhäuser’s head of Apollo, Roman replica of a Greek statue of the Apollo Belvedere type, Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, Inv. BS 205CQ5Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2019Reproduced in slightly reduced scale (H. 31 cm)Contract and Sales Agreement between Salahaddin Refik Sirmalı Bey and ‘Izz al-Din Tah al-Darir Bey, dated 4 December 1946, de-tailing the sale of “ancient and excavated Egyptian, African, and Roman antiquities under the supervision of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.”The list of antiquities is comprised of sixteen lots, some detailing large quantities of Egyptian finds including: “a hundred pottery utensils in various shapes, sizes, and colours”, “approximately three hundred ushabti, of ‘porcelain’, in various shapes and sizes and a range of colours, some of these are inscribed, and they date from the New Kingdom”, “twenty-five wooden fragments of multi-part human figures in different shapes and sizes, some of them standing upright, and others seated, from the Middle Kingdom” and “twenty pairs of wooden hands and feet in different sizes from the Late Period”.The Ptolemaic head is described as item number three: “One frag-ment of Greek white marble of the king of kings Ptolemaios, that is, the face and a part of the head, the hair and neck incomplete, measuring 31 cm.”The document is signed by both parties on page three and by the officer of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities who supervised the transaction. Overleaf: A DOUBLE LIFE-SIZED ROYAL PORTRAIT, POSSIBLY PTOLEMY III EUERGETES. H. 31 cm. White, crystalline marble. Egypt, Ptolemaic Period, 3rd century B.C. Price on requestCQ7Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2019My ChoiceTomas Lochman studied Classical Ar-chaeology in Basel and earned his doc-torate with a thesis on Roman art in Phrygia. He has been director of the Skulpturhalle since 1993 and curator inthe Antikenmuseum since 2013. From 2000-2016 he was president of the In-ternational Association for the Conser-vation and the Promotion of Plaster CastCollections. Lochman’s research focuseson ancient sculpture (Greece, Rome andthe Eastern Provinces), the reception ofAntiquity in modern times and the histo-ry of plaster cast collections.of good fortune, incidentally, especially as it snapped them up just days before the ar-rival of the representatives of the Königliche Museen in Berlin, who had also been eyeing them. The three heads have been at the core of the Basler Antikensammlung and the great pride of the Antikenmuseum since 1966. The restorations undertaken by Steinhäuser were not removed until 1924 (fig. 2). Kekulé’s research on the unrestored cast provides vivid proof of the felicitous syner-gies that were sparked by archaeology’s two most important media, photography and the plaster cast, in the days before photography became so easy that it increasingly took pre-cedence over the latter. It was not until the 1960s and 1970s, when Ernst Berger with his pioneering reconstructions in Basel’s Skulp-turhalle (naturally supported by extensive photographic documentation) reminded us of the advantages of plaster casts, that they were at last restored to their former impor-tance and glory. Further reading:R. Kekulé, Sovra due scoperte archeologiche risguar-danti l’Apollo di Belvedere, in: Annali dell’Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica 39, 1867, 124-140 with illus. in: Monumenti Inediti Pubblicati dall’Instituto di Corrispondenza Archeologica 8, 1864-1868, pls. 39-40. – R. Kekulé, Apolloköpfe, in: Archäologische Zeitung 36, 1878, 7-9. – S. Klamm, Bilder im Wan-del. Der Berliner Archäologe R. Kekulé von Stradonitz und die Konkurrenz von Zeichnung und Fotografie, in: Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen N.F. 49, 2007, 116-126. – S. Klamm, Neue Originale. Medienpluralität in der Klassischen Archäologie des 19. Jahrhunderts, in: Transformationen der Antike, vol. 17: Das Origi-nale der Kopie. Kopien als Produkte und Medien der Transformation von Antike, eds. T. Bartsch, M. Beck-er, H. Bredekamp, C. Schreiter (Berlin 2010) 47-67. By Jean-David CahnA Royal PortraitWhen I first saw this monumental royal por-trait – a splendid sculpture in double life-size – I was immediately captivated by it. The oval face with its smooth, taut flesh appears ageless, and the calm facial features are im-bued with serene majesty. Detached and in-scrutable, this idealised head reaches beyond the distinction between male and female: de-pending on which part of the face one focus-es on it seems at times more masculine, at times more feminine, a strange phenomenon that is also encountered in other portraits of the Ptolemies. Intriguingly, despite its high degree of idealisation, the sculpture conveys a distinct impression of individuality. The rel-atively close-set eyes framed by heavy lids, the small mouth with soft, sensual lips and the broad, almost fleshy transition from the chin to the neck tell us unequivocally that here, a specific person is represented. Indeed, there are close physiognomic similarities be-A DOUBLE LIFE-SIZED ROYAL PORTRAIT, POSSIBLY PTOLEMY III EUERGETES. H. 31 cm. White, crystalline mar-ble. Egypt, Ptolemaic Period, 3rd century B.C. Price on requesttween our head and the two portraits in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, inv. no. 573, and in the Louvre, Paris, inv. no. 3030, which were identified as Ptolemy III Euergetes (ca. 284-222 B.C.) by Helmut Kyrieleis, the distinguished specialist on Ptolemaic sculp-ture. Two large dowel holes and holes for pins indicate that the royal portrait once wore an elaborate coiffure and headdress, possibly a crown of Helios or a vulture cap. Due to the high quality of its workmanship, there can be no doubt that it was made by a Greek sculptor active in Egypt.It is a rare stroke of luck that the family which owned this portrait from 1946 onwards kept the sales contract. It is reproduced on the page opposite with excerpts in translation. The head has been in the USA since 1948 and the original customs and shipping documents have also been preserved. CQ8Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2019Black PotteryNew Artworks Monthlyon www.cahn.chA CUP WITH CONICAL NECK AND RAM PROTOME. Dm. max. 13.5 cm. Clay (fired). Tripartite vessel with tapering neck and slightly flaring rim. Offset, rounded shoulder. Conical lower section. Richly decorated by incision. A spout in the shape of a ram protome with curving horns emerges from the vessel's belly. The eyes and mouth are drilled and serve as spout. The shape of this cup is typical of the late phase of the Bronze Age Lusatian Culture or of the period immediately afterwards. The variant with a ram protome, here serving as spout, is extremely rare. Reassembled. Formerly Coll. Dr. Siegfried Zimmer, ca. 1950. Eastern Central Europe, Early Iron Age, 7th-6th cent. B.C. CHF 18,000A SMALL AMPHORA. H. 7.5 cm. Fired clay. A vessel with conical neck and slight-ly flaring rim. Squat, biconical profile. Alternating triangles composed of diagonal grooves (“interlace pattern") on the shoulder, bordered above and below by two parallel encircling grooves. Four double knobs at the carination. Two pairs on opposite sides each have a small perforation between the knobs. Smooth, dark grey graphitized sur-face. Unbroken; fine crack at the neck. Formerly Coll. Dr. Siegfried Zimmer, ca. 1950. Inscription on loose sheet of paper: “Ziergefäss Fr. Eisenzeit. 800-700 v. Chr. / Lausizer Kultur". Inscription on label: “244". Inscription on base of vessel: “Schlesien". Silesia (Poland), Bronze to Iron Age Lusatian Culture, ca. 1300-500 B.C. CHF 6,500TWO RATTLES. a) H. 4.4 cm. Clay. Biconical body and short handle. Shoulder deco-rated with grooves and incisions Hollow body filled with movable objects. Polished surface, brown coating. Intact, surface slightly corroded in one place. Formerly Coll. Dr. Siegfried Zimmer, ca 1950. Pencilled note on the base: “Weigelsdorf " (modern Sile-sia). Eastern Central Europe, Bronze to Iron Age Lusatian Culture, ca. 1300–500 B.C. b) H. 7.3 cm. Clay. Biconical body and slender neck or handle that is closed at the top. Shoulder decorated with incisions. Hollow body filled with movable objects. Intact. Formerly Coll. Dr. Siegfried Zimmer, ca. 1950. Label: “Karmine/Schles.". Eastern Central Europe, Bronze to Iron Age Lusatian Culture, ca. 1300-500 B.C. CHF 2,400CQ9Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2019A STATUETTE OF A LION. L. 8.8 cm. Bucchero. The stylised lion crouches on the ground with its jaws wide open and its ears raised attentively. The slender body is perforated horizontally and the mouth, too, has a circular opening. As the body is not hollow, it cannot have served as a vessel, although this is occasionally the case. The distinct curve of the underside suggests that the lion might have served as an applique that adorned a vessel or its lid. Bucchero is a ceramic ware with a glossy, black surface which was produced in the Etruscan city-states in the late 7th and 6th cent. B.C. From the estate of the Swiss art dealer and collector Elsa Bloch-Diener (1922-2012), Berne, acquired between 1968 and 1983. Etruscan, 6th cent. B.C. CHF 9,600A BUCCHERO KYATHOS. Dm. 11.3 cm. Bucchero. Drinking vessel with flaring wall and slightly arched base on a low ring-foot. The beginning of the vertical handle with short connecting bar has a triangular cross-section. Its upper part is pressed flat and forms a polygonal contour. Incised decoration on the inward-facing, lower part of the handle (hori-zontal lines) as well as on the lower part of the wall (chevron band). The interior of the foot is adorned with finely incised concentric circles. One fragment of the wall restored. For-merly priv. coll. B. R., Dijon, France, 1980. Etruscan, 2nd half of 7th cent. B.C. CHF 2,200A STRAP HANDLE AMPHORA WITH SPIRAL DECORATION. H. 13.9 cm. Bucchero. Squat body with incised decoration on both sides: a bird in profile, its body adorned with dots, above a spiral, the whole framed by vertical lines. Further vertical lines below as well as on the handles. Reassembled from fragments with minor restorations. Formerly priv. coll. E. R., Toronto, Canada, 1972. On the bottom collection label "A9917 670-650 BC". Etruria, 7th cent. B.C. CHF 2,600A BEAKED JUG. H. 24.3 cm. Impasto. The tall, conically tapering neck, the steeply ascending trefoil-like mouth and the two round handles that join together just before the mouth all form an attractive contrast to the squat, broad body of the vessel with seven regularly spaced vertical ribs. Reassembled, minor fillings. Formerly priv. coll. R. C., France, 1970. Cuvreau Expertises Enchères, Auction 21.6.2009, lot 143. Etruria, 1st half of 7th cent. B.C. CHF 2,800Next >