CQ1 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2020 Editorial am deeply grateful. The videos even prompt- ed some sales, and by no means just minor ones, despite the impossibility of inspecting the originals prior to purchase. I would there- fore like to take this opportunity to thank you for the trust placed in me. We have also start- ed using digital platforms like Instagram – albeit rather reticently owing to my unease at the compulsion to be original. There can be no doubt that because of the current situation, the digitalization of the art world is gaining pace much faster than it would have otherwise, and there are also signs that online shopping, as has long been practiced in the clothing business, will soon be standard practice in the art business, too. Virtual gallery visits that allow for live con- versations and interaction with works of art are already being prepared in many places. We will therefore be taking part in the Art Packing for the Highlights International Art Fair Munich, October 2020. Our Online Auctions with Ancient Art Our next online auction using the platform LiveAuctioneers will take place in Decem- ber. Two weeks prior to the auction you will receive a link by e-mail which will enable you to view the catalogue and to place written bids. Furthermore, you will also be able to bid live online during the auction itself. We are also offering digital private pre- views via Zoom or WhatsApp. Please do not hesitate to contact us to schedule such an online meeting or if you have any other questions: auctions@cahn.ch City project (artcity.online/visit-artcity#reg- ister-form) as well as boosting our online presence at TEFAF (tefaf.com/visitors/sign_ up). In spite of – or perhaps because of – the pre- dominance of the virtual necessitated by the pandemic, more and more people are now feeling the need to engage with art, and conceivably even more so than before. I am therefore looking forward to TEFAF Maas- tricht coming up in the new year, which for all the restrictions promises to be a great event. TEFAF Maastricht 2021 will take place in June 2021! Dear readers Over half a year has passed since the pandem- ic swept over us in the spring of 2020, bring- ing with it far-reaching consequences for our lives, both private and professional. Much that at first seemed utterly alien or inconceivable has since become normal, and the art market, too, has proved astonishingly adaptable. At the time of writing, art dealers are still largely prevented from using the channels through which they customarily operate. Many fairs and exhibitions have been cancelled or post- poned, and those that are taking place again have had to make numerous adjustments to guarantee the health and safety of both visi- tors and exhibitors alike. But it is not all bad. On the contrary, I think we can learn a lot of positive lessons from this crisis. The slower pace of life that has been forced upon us is actually beneficial in that we now have the time to look criti- cally at old habits. The carrousel of art fairs, for example, was turning too fast. There are still too many such events, making it hard to know which ones to attend. And since fairs are also a financial burden, the scaling back we had to do this year was not entirely un- welcome. As fairs are also our principal means of stay- ing in touch with customers, however, their cancellation presented an opportunity to try out some creative alternatives. Right at the start of the crisis we reached out by posting video messages, often filmed in a rather ad hoc fashion that gave preference to the au- thentic over the staged. We nevertheless re- ceived many positive responses, for which I In memoriam J. Robert Guy (1949-2020) It was with great sorrow that we bid farewell to our esteemed friend and colleague, J. Robert Guy, who passed away this July. His life and work will be the subject of a special feature in CQ4/2020. English EditionCQ2 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2020 The Collector’s Point of View The Genesis of a Private Collection of Animals in Ancient Art ness, patience and paternal indulgence of several dealers. With my schoolboy’s and later my student’s budget I cannot possi- bly have been of any economic interest to them, yet they took the time to answer my questions and let me spend hours examining their objects, even accepting reservations and payment in instalments. The realization that these gallery owners were not out to make a quick sale, but were themselves gen- uinely interested in the objects they sold no doubt helped deepen and affirm the interest that I had already developed. Sharing this with others of like mind still means a lot to me even today. There is both an intellectual and an emotion- al side to building up a collection. We can reconstruct the everyday lives and the reli- gious-spiritual world of the Ancient Greeks and Romans and the Ancient Egyptians at least up to a point. But what do we know of the world of the Etruscans, of other Med- iterranean cultures, of all the civilizations in Western Asia and Mesopotamia, in Per- sia and Central Asia? Building a collection of works from these cultures is quite a chal- lenge for a layman; but it is also profoundly What prompted me to start collecting an- cient art at the age of sixteen is a question I am frequently asked. The answer is more easily described than explained. I grew up in a home steeped in a quintessentially Ba- sel brand of humanism, and although my parents did not collect anything specific, they did frequent art and antiquities fairs. We children were invited to go along too, if we wanted. And that’s when it happened. Certain objects caught my eye, and then I discovered that some of them were actual- ly affordable, even for my modest budget. The foundation stone of my collection of animals in ancient art – a field that has re- mained a passion of mine to this day – was an Egyptian amulet in the shape of a lion dating from the Late Kingdom. It had been damaged and glued back together again and for more experienced collectors was but a paltry thing. For me, however, it was a work of great charm and enigmatic beauty. The choice of theme was only natural, given that I had been interested in animals since early childhood and would go on to study biology. The leap from occasional buyer to collector came about largely as a result of the kind- enriching. Owing to the lack of certain ba- sics, not having a background in art history can be a disadvantage; but it can also be an advantage as it allows you to approach the matter impartially and to pursue parallels and differences that transcend geographical, cultural and temporal boundaries. These are what give a collection in the making its in- dividuality and what reflect the interests and the personality of the collector. And it is pre- cisely this that makes private collections so charming in a way that museum collections are not. I have long regarded my own collection as a fragment – a fragment of the collection that I would have liked to amass. Complement- ing the physically existent collection are those objects that are present only in my mind. Some of these are pieces which, giv- en the means, I would want to buy if ever they turned up on the market; but others are objects that I would no longer endeavour to acquire. This is also true of certain objects that are physically present in the collection. As I never sell anything, my collection still contains items that I would not buy again, but that have come to matter to me none- A WINGED LION. L. 5.6 cm. Ivory. Eastern Greek, late 5th cent. B.C.Sold By Peter Steinmann A BULL AND A FOAL. H. 11.3 cm. Terracotta. Greek, 5th cent. B.C. SoldCQ3 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2020 Gallery By Jean-David Cahn Cahn Contemporary As anyone who keeps track of developments on the art market and at exhibitions will have noticed, contemporary art is becom- ing an ever more powerful presence, even in Europe. Especially striking is the number of living artists whose work has been shaped by an engagement with history and archae- ology. That is what inspired me to found Cahn Con- temporary in Paris in 2019. The idea was to stage exhibition projects in which contem- porary artists entered into a dialectical rela- tionship with ancient art. These projects are undertaken in partnership with the galleries that represent the artists in question, to date Jocelyn Wolff (galeriewolff.com), Marcelle Alix (marcellealix.com) and Eric Dupont (er- ic-dupont.com). This autumn we launched our first such project in Switzerland, Otto Boll – Fundstücke/Schauwerkzeuge (11 Sep- tember – 15 November), which was a col- laboration with the artist Otto Boll and the Dierk Dierking Gallery in Zurich (dierking. ch). There are also plans for a joint presence at Art Cologne. I am pleased to announce that Cahn Con- temporary will soon be extending its ac- tivities to Basel, too. Having found some excellent, centrally located exhibition and storage space to rent in Basel, starting mid- In autumn 2020, the Dierking Gallery on Zurich’s Paradeplatz showed sculptures and models by the German artist, Otto Boll, who was born in Issum near Geldern in 1952. The works of his on show were presented alongside works of ancient art that the sculptor himself had selected from the Cahn Gallery collection. 2021 we plan to use the 400 m 2 at our dis- posal to stage still more Cahn Contemporary artist projects. Dr. Peter Steinmann, 42, is an epi- demiologist with Associate Professor qualification (“Habilitation”). He works as a project manager at the Swiss Trop- ical and Public Health Institute in Basel, where he specializes in neglected trop- ical diseases. theless, whether through a story connected with them or as testimony to the develop- ment of my taste, my experience and hence of me as an individual. Every acquisition –and every non-acquisition, since they are also part of the collection history – is the result of different factors that interact in different combinations and different inten- sities. Perhaps the object has a collection history or perhaps even a previous owner I know? Can I afford the piece? Is the ob- ject compatible with my current notion of how the collection should develop? Will this purchase render me unable to acquire a perhaps more desirable work that may soon come onto the market? And perhaps no less important is mood: the spontaneous associations that an object evokes in me, the personal events or stories that I connect it with. One key factor is the special fasci- nation that the animal (or chimera) holds for me personally; it must speak to me and stand out from all the others. If all of that is right, then I can only hope that the ob- ject is still unsold, because often I agonize for so long that someone else gets in there before me. What drives me deep down, however, is the beauty of these ancient objects, which even in these fast-paced times of ours still have the capacity to stop us in our tracks, invit- ing us to dwell on the unending fascination, the diversity and the abundance of our world and our history. So what this is really about is joy – the pure joy we take in aesthetical- ly persuasive images of living creatures that tell of the artistry, skill, and understanding of the natural world of bygone cultures. STATUETTE OF A COMEDY ACTOR. H. 8.7 cm. Bronze. Greek, 4th cent. B.C. with an intervention by the artist Otto Boll. The statuette is dwarfed by its dispropor- tionately large plinth. Resting on a single point in the figure’s left hand is a line that sweeps down deep into the space surrounding it. CQ4 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2020 Discovered for You Toga, Tunic and Stola A Foray into the World of Roman Garments gustan Peace, 9 B.C., Campus Martius, Rome) presents the Imperial family in typically Ro- man garb (fig. 1, 1st row): Tiberius on the far left and L. Domitius Ahenobarbus on the far right each wear a tunic (simple shirt-like garment worn by both sexes) and draped over it a voluminous, heavily pleated toga, while Drusus the Elder (in profile in the mid- dle) wears a short, belted tunic with paluda- mentum (general’s cloak) hanging down off his shoulders. The ladies, Antonia Minor and Antonia Maior, wear a chiton or tunic and over it a palla (cloak) draped in the Hellenis- tic style so that it covers at least one arm. If covering the head, the palla can identify the wearer as a married woman. All the children wear the typical toga praetexta (with purple stripes), while the two boys also wear a bulla, a capsule-shaped, apotropaic amulet. Virgil captured the importance of the toga to the Romans when he spoke of them as the “gens togata” (“toga-wearing race,” Aeniad 1, 282). The white toga stood for Roman identi- ty and Roman citizenship. On entering adult- hood, young men advanced to the toga virilis (the “toga of manhood”). The segment-shaped cut and draping of the cloth derived from the Etruscan tebenna (the “ur-toga”), a cloak known to us from 7th-century textile frag- ments and from images dating from the mid- 6th century B.C. onwards. Over time, this gar- ment became ever more voluminous (ca. 5 m x 2.5 m). The bulk of the cloth ran from the left leg up to the neck and right armpit and from there dropped down in a loose sling (balteus) that ran up over the left shoulder and down the left flank. The remainder of the cloth was After our excursion into the world of Greek garments in the two previous issues it is time to turn our attention to Roman sartorial hab- its. Roman attire developed primarily under the influence of the Greeks in the colonies of southern Italy and the neighbouring Etruscans. Ancient authors tell of the role of dress and appearance in the judgement of character and as factors determining participation in society and even suitability for political of- fice in Rome. How garments were used was clearly regulated, meaning that dress was subject to social and political control, for ex- ample through sumptuary laws. The measur- ing gauge was the mos maiorum by which time-honoured Roman customs and values such as dignity, honour and duty were up- held. Sarcastic commentaries on the luxu- rious lifestyle of the elite targeted not only their use of certain garments, fabrics, colours and jewellery, but also the unequal distribu- tion of wealth between the various classes. According to current research, a mere 1.5 per cent of the Roman Empire’s ca. 70 million in- habitants in mid-2nd century A.D. accounted for 25 per cent of its total income. The middle class – comprising just 10 per cent of the total population – accounted for a further 25 per cent. The remaining 50 per cent was shared by the rest of the population (J. P. Wild, Tex- tilien und das römische Konzept von Luxus, in Cat. Hildesheim 2013, 62). The surviving textiles, magnificent state re- liefs, murals, sculptures and statuettes paint a varied picture of the Roman wardrobe. The south frieze of the Ara Pacis (the Altar of Au- threaded up on the inside and then gathered up in a roll of cloth (umbo) over the balteus. The umbo later became a broad band that kept all the lengths of cloth in place (toga contabu- lata). When performing cultic acts, the wearer pulled up the toga to cover his head. Coloured borders, like purple stripes, were indicative of social status, a woman’s/child’s special need of protection or the position of office hold- er, such as consul or senator. In everyday life, men combined the tunic with the pallium, a cloak similar to a himation. True purple dye obtained from murex sea snails was an exclusive and expensive com- modity, trade in which was tightly regulat- ed until, eventually, the emperor claimed a monopoly over it. The symbolic meaning of this dye was most clearly apparent in trium- phal vestments, which can be traced back to the Etruscan kings. On arriving at the city limits of Rome, the triumphant general ex- changed his weapons and armour for purple, gold-embroidered, bejewelled raiments: the tunica palmata and toga triumphalis. Don- ning these, his face reddened with minium, his head crowned with a laurel wreath, and in his hands an eagle sceptre and laurel branch, he would have seemed inviolable to the peo- ple watching him process through Rome to the Capitol. The emperor later adopted these triumphal vestments as his official regalia. The paludamentum, which on military cam- paigns was draped over the breastplate and shoulders, symbolized the general, and in the imperial portraits that came later the ideal im- perator, as shown in Cahn Gallery’s over life- Fig. 1: Ara Pacis Augustae, detail of the south frieze, Rome, Campus Martius. Roman, 9 B.C. Photograph: Sailko, Wikimedia Commons By Gerburg Ludwig Fig. 2: A PALUDAMENTUM BUST WITH A PORTRAIT OF A MAN. H.78 cm. Marble. Roman, 2nd half of 1st cent. A.D. Price on requestCQ5 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2020 size bust (fig. 2). At a later point in time, post- dating Antiquity, the bust was combined with a Republican portrait head that in a deliberate revival of ideal Roman values had been re- worked in the age of Vespasian. The paluda- mentum hanging somewhat asymmetrically across the breast exposes the flat folds of the tunic. A round fibula fixates the lengths of cloth. Overlapping leather straps (pteruges) on the arm hole of the breastplate cover the right shoulder, while an end of cloth with fringed hem lies flat against the left. At her marriage, a young, upper-class bride would have worn a belted tunica recta that she herself had woven, a flammeum (veil), vittae (bands) and a floral wreath in her hair. If a woman combined a palla with chiton or a foot-length tunic with a purple-hemmed sto- la, a belted or unbelted ankle-length throw with shoulder straps (institae), then she was clearly a married Roman citizen: a matrona. Like the toga, the stola symbolized Roman identity and prosperity. Exquisite materials such as silk from China, jewellery, and so- phisticated coiffures were added to perfect the look for public appearances. A bronze finial (fig. 3) at the Cahn Gallery shows a young girl in a tunic with a V-neck at both front and back; the flat modulated folds rise up to the shoulders, where they are held in place by an oval fibula on each side. Her long hair is rolled over at either side and tied in a knot at the nape of the neck. The lancet-shaped earrings make for an additional accent. The Roman wardrobe was subject to clear rules orientated to the mos maiorum. These provid- ed guidelines on how to appear in public and in this way influenced social cohesion. Bibl.: M. Tellenbach et al., Die Macht der Toga. Dress - Code im Römischen Weltreich, Cat. Hildesheim 2013 Fig. 3: A FEMALE BUST. H. 14.2 cm. Bronze. Formerly Hoving & Winborg, Stockholm, Auction 29.9.1917, lot 964. Roman, 2nd cent. A.D. CHF 7,300 My Choice Eros and Psyche By Jean-David Cahn The pleasure of introducing you to this beautiful relief of Eros and Psyche is two- fold, deriving not just from the unusual ico- nography, but from the fact that my father, Herbert A. Cahn, described it in some de- tail back in 1982. Here is an excerpt from his catalogue text, the succinct wording of which is typical of his writing style: “Eros, in his right hand a lowered torch and in his left the captured Psyche, here a fat moth, flies towards a fire altar and there dangles the creature over the flames. The boy’s wings are outstretched; the tip of his right foot is touching the floor and his chlamys is fluttering out behind him from under his arm. Rosette-like drawing on the butterfly wings. The little fluted altar stands on a low pedestal with lion’s paw feet. Relief framed by round and flat mouldings; the in- ner edges of the tall frame at right and left bevelled and at the top hollowed out down to below the forehead and wings of Eros. Outside edges smooth for 1.5 cm, thereaf- ter picked. Verso cursorily smoothed. Right fingertips with middle part of torch missing; worn: upper edges of the wings, sex, right thigh, foot, chlamys and frame.” (Münzen und Me- daillen AG, Basel, Auction 60, 21.9.1982, Lot 168). What I find especially touching about this highly decorative work is the way the cruelty of the subject becomes apparent only on closer inspection. To the chubby-cheeked god of love, skipping along gracefully as he consigns the hapless but- terfly to the deadly flames, it is all just a game. He is not aware of the appalling consequences that his ac- tions will have. To quote my father again: “Psyche, the human soul in the guise of a butterfly as a plaything of capricious Eros – this rich vein was tapped first in Hel- lenistic art and there treated in all manner of ways until finally the Romans gave it an eschatological meaning in their funerary art.” Here, I am reminded of something that Karl Schefold, my esteemed Professor of Archae- ology, once said: “Roman art is conceptual!” Many Roman works were conceived not as decorative art, but as conceptual art, whose purpose was to prompt further thought and discussion among all who saw them. This work of outstanding quality from the city of Rome is an excellent example of this. RELIEF WITH EROS AND PSYCHE. H. 32.9 cm. Coarse-grained marble. Ro- man, 1st half of 2nd cent. A.D. Price on request Imprint Publisher Jean-David Cahn Malzgasse 23 CH-4052 Basel www.cahn.ch ISSN 2624-6368 Editors Jean-David Cahn Yvonne Yiu Authors Jean-David Cahn Martin Flashar Ulrike Haase Gerburg Ludwig Peter Steinmann Translations Bronwen Saunders Yvonne Yiu Photos Niklaus Bürgin Design and Layout Michael Joos Printer Rösch Printservice GmbHCQ6 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2020 UPPER PART OF A FEMALE FIGURINE. H. 17 cm. Fired clay. Formerly priv. coll. Sam Dubiner, acquired between 1954-1958. Thereafter priv. coll. Zakary, Los Angeles, USA, 1960s. Amlash Culture, ca. 10th-8th cent. B.C. CHF 6,800 A HEAD OF AN IDOL. H. 5.8 cm. Terracotta. Oval face and high forehead or headdress. Applied eyes with central incision. Former- ly London priv. coll. Thereafter Rupert Wace Ancient Art, Ltd., London, 2007 or earlier. Thessaly, 7th-6th mill. B.C. CHF 6,500 A FINIAL WITH THE STYLIZED HEAD OF A MAN. H. 6.4 cm. Bronze. Globular eyes, pro- jecting nose, wide mouth and moulded ears. Probably a finial for a fibula. Formerly priv. coll. Martini, acquired in the 1990s. Greek, Geometric, 8th cent. B.C. CHF 5,400 Silent Emotions? – Facial Expressions and Gestures in Antiquity A MALE IDOL. H. 4.7 cm. Bronze. The sche- matic figure stands with his overdimen- sioned hands raised in a gesture of ado- ration. Formerly Coll. Levkovic. Thereafter Coll. Dr. Wassilijew. Western Asia, 8th-7th cent. B.C. CHF 2,200 A STATUETTE OF A LION. L. 8.8 cm. Bucchero. The stylised lion crouches on the ground with its jaws wide open and its ears alertly pricked. The slender body is perforated horizontally and the mouth, too, has a circular opening. Probably an applique that adorned a vessel or its lid. 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 8,200 A HEAD OF A HORSE. W. 13.3 cm. Clay, polychromy. Probably from a statuette that may have adorned a temple roof in the form of an akroterion. Formerly priv. coll. F. Bürki, Zurich, acquired 1979. Thereafter Swiss priv. coll., acquired 1994. Etruscan, 6th cent. B.C. CHF 16,800 A FRAGMENT OF A BLACK-FIGURE COLUMN-KRATER. L. 22.8 cm. Clay. On the reserved up- per surface of the rim a lion and a boar confront each other. The rest of the rim was probably adorned with further animal pairs. The outside of the rim is decorated with two ivy chains separated by a thin band. The interior of the krater is glazed black. Formerly priv. coll. G. J., Germany, acquired 5.4.1986 from Roswitha Eberwein, Antike Kunst Göttingen. Attic, last quarter of 6th cent. B.C. CHF 3,400 A GORGONEION APPLIQUE. H. 6 cm. Ter- racotta. The Gorgoneion was thought to be capable of repelling bad influences. Former- ly Herbert A. Cahn, Basel. Thereafter priv. coll. Mirza Suter, Basel, since 1980. Western Greek, ca. 480-470 B.C. CHF 1'200 A HEAD OF A YOUTH. H. 8.9 cm. Terracotta. Formerly priv. coll. Tom Virzi (1881-1974), New York. With Galleria Serodine, Ascona (publ.: Terrakotten aus Westgriechenland, As- cona, 1994). Thereafter priv. coll. Switzerland. Western Greek, 5th-4th cent. B.C. CHF 2,400 New Artworks Monthly on www.cahn.chCQ7 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2020 A DRAPED FEMALE STATUETTE. H. 20 cm. Terracotta. Mould-made and finished by hand. Formerly priv. coll. Lyon, France, 1980s. Greek, probably Tanagra, 4th-2nd cent. B.C. CHF 5,200 A WHITE-GROUND LEKYTHOS, ATTRIBUTED TO THE MANNER OF THE BIRD PAINTER. H. 24 cm. Clay. A young man is approached by a woman carrying a basket of wreaths. A duck stands between the couple. Formerly Münzen und Medaillen AG, Basel, 1956 (publ. Auction 12, 19.6.1956, no. 150, illus.). Thereafter priv. coll. of the publisher M. Hagemann, Basel. Thence by descent in the family. Attic, 430-410 B.C. CHF 12,800 A SMALL BRONZE HEAD OF A WOMAN. H. 5.7 cm. Bronze (hollow cast), gilding. Formerly Coll. Prof. Hans Dahn (1919-2019), Lausanne, formed mainly in the 1950s. Distinctive facial features and accurately modeled strands of hair. Late Etruscan, 3rd-2nd cent. B.C. CHF 12,000 A SMALL HEAD OF A BEARDED MAN (POS- SIBLY AJAX). H. 3.3 cm. Soapstone. Former- ly Coll. Friedlinger-Brandt. Thereafter Her- bert A. Cahn, Basel, 1990s. Greek, Hellenistic, 2nd cent. B.C. CHF 1,600 A LID IN THE FORM OF A THEATRE MASK. H. 5.7 cm. Bronze. Formerly Coll. Prof. Hans Dahn (1919-2019), Lausanne; acquired July 1959 from Donati. Roman, 1st-2nd cent. A.D. CHF 2,200 AN ELEPHANT GROTESQUE. H. 8.3 cm. Ter- racotta. Formerly Münzen und Medaillen AG, Basel, 1962 (publ.: Sonderliste E, 1962, no. 97). Thereafter priv. coll. C. von Faber-Cas- tell, Switzerland, acquired 1991 from Her- bert A. Cahn, Basel (publ.: Kunstwerke der Antike, Cat. 3, 1991, no. 32). Greek, 3rd-1st cent. B.C. CHF 3,500 A HEAD OF EROS. H. 14.5 cm. Marble. For- merly priv. coll. G., Normandy, France, by in- heritance from her father. In possession of the family since 1960 or earlier. Roman, late 1st cent. B.C.-1st cent. A.D. CHF 8,800 A THEATRE MASK REPRESENTING ATTIS. H. 23 cm. Terracotta, traces of light blue paint. Formerly Bonhams London, 3 April 1989, lot 18 with illus. Thereafter priv. coll. California, USA; acquired in 1995 from Hadji Baba. Roman, 1st cent. A.D. CHF 12,300 A HEAD AND PART OF BUST OF A FEMALE STATUETTE. H. 10.5 cm. Terracotta. Archaic smile. Formerly Coll. Walter Kropatschek, Germany. Coll. A. P., United Kingdom. Western Greek, ca. 500 B.C. CHF 8,800 ARCHAISTIC RELIEF HEAD OF A MALE DEITY. W. 16 cm. Marble. Formerly Coll. Prof. Hans Dahn (1919-2019), Lausanne; acquired 25.2.1953 in Paris (Kalebdjian). Roman, Late Republi- can to Early Imperial Period, late 1st cent. B.C.-early 1st cent. A.D. CHF 28,000CQ8 Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2020 Highlight Three chubby little winged Erotes grapple with a huge garland, heavily laden with fruit of all kinds – and, contrary to what one would ex- pect, master the task manfully. What is behind this visual concept? In ancient imagery, gar- lands, as components of the cult, are familiar to us from sacrificial processions. Bulls, espe- cially, were festooned with fruit and flowers for their final journey to the altar in front of the temple. This motif from living culture in- evitably migrated into the visual arts. Count- less such representations adorn temple gates and even more so altars, especially those from Hellenistic times. It is as if the cultic act had been artfully inscribed in stone at the place of performance. This is what these images of bulls’ heads (bucephalia) or skulls (bucra- nia) festooned with garlands of fruit and fo- liage live from. In this terracotta relief that erstwhile context has been abandoned and through the Erotes has entered the realm of myth. The exaggeration of the iconographic roots is indicative of a conceptual rethink, the dawn of a new era. For the fact is, the little helpers from the Dionysian-Aphroditic con- text denote a transformative shift to a new cultural and political concept, that of the Au- gustan Period. Now the garlands coalesce into symbols of wealth, abundance and happiness. To make sense, therefore, the Amores en min- iature have to be read as erotic bearers of the imperial promise of a coming Golden Age, the much vaunted Aurea Aetas so central to im- perial propaganda. The relief is an example of what are known as Campana Reliefs. The genre is not clear- in Hagenau in Alsace, is the only scholar to have devoted a whole section of his impor- tant book on terracot- tas to Erotes with gar- lands as a distinctive motif. He cites over a dozen examples, which differ in both detail and chronology, the differ- ences concerning both the number and posi- tion of the Amores and the contents and exact fall of the festoons. The relief at the Cahn Gallery belongs to the oldest group; a second (von Rohden, pl. LIX 1)is so similar that it probably comes from the same mould (then: Roman art market, W. Helbig). The work can be dated on the basis of the bulging, plastic garlands, the individ- ual fruits in which can be identified in detail. The piece constitutes an early and especially high quality example of the genre. That it was originally painted must be assumed, giv- en that the ends of the taeniae binding the garlands in several places would have hung down into areas of the relief ground that are now empty. The provenance is also interesting. The ob- ject comes from the property of the Swiss industrialist and art connoisseur, Dr. Arnold Ruesch (1882–1929), who edited an Italian guide to the National Museum in Naples, published in 1908. At his death in 1936, the owner’s art collection was in large part auc- tioned off (Galerie Fischer, Lucerne). Histor- ical photos provide evidence of where the relief was displayed. Ruesch, who in 1920–21 had a villa in the style of a Pompeiian peri- style house built on the Zürichberg not far from the Grand Hotel Dolder, mounted it on a wall in the vestibule. How nice it is to have this information – and what a pity that nei- ther the villa nor the Ruesch Collection still exist! Yet how wonderful it would neverthe- less be to possess a work of art as enchanting and historically exciting as this Campana Re- lief with Erotes! Bibliography: H. von Rohden (assisted by H. Winnefeld), Ar- chitektonische römische Tonreliefs der Kaiserzeit (R. Kekulé von Stradonitz [ed.], Die antiken Terrakotten, vol. IV), Berlin 1911, 187 ff., 268 f., pl. LXI. CAMPANA RELIEF WITH EROTES. L. 48.5 cm. Terracotta. Roman, Late Augustan-Early Tiberian, early 1st cent. A.D. CHF 35,000 ly defined and at its outer limits becomes quite blurred. The name can be traced back to the art collection of the Roman Marchese G.Campana (1808–1880), who in 1842 pub- lished a magnificent book detailing the ter- racotta reliefs in his possession, among them one showing Erotes and garlands (pl. XV). The predominant themes, however, are myth- ical tales of gods and heroes, cultic scenes, landscapes, and images of Roman life. The centuries-old Middle-Italian tradition of ar- chitectural terracottas gave rise to small, flat-modelled panels that were designed to be viewed not from afar, but close up – main- ly as decorative elements for sepulchral or domestic interiors. What had been a facade element thus mutated into an interior fitting; an impulse to export these items seems not to have existed. The largest and most mag- nificent Campana Reliefs were those belong- ing to the Temple of Apollo and the House of Augustus on the Palatine Hill in Rome, two complexes that were conceived in tandem. The reliefs were produced preferably in Rome, with only a few coming from workshops else- where in Italy. Under discussion here is a terracotta panel that at the bottom ends in a straight hori- zontal bar and at the top is crowned with an egg-and-dart moulding – the equivalent of the sima in Classical architecture. Especially striking is the quality of the modelling, which is often mediocre in this particular genre. As far as I can see, Hermann von Rohden (1852– 1916), an archaeologist who did his doctor- ate in Bonn and later taught at a gymnasium Heavy Garlands of Fruit Held High By Martin FlasharNext >