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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Antiquities| ▸ |Antiquities by Type||View Options:   | | | |
King Polydektes commanded Perseus to fetch the head of Medusa. With the help of the gods, Perseus obtained the helmet of Hades, which made him invisible, a reflective shield, and a magical harpa sword. Stealing the single eye of the Graeae, he compelled them to reveal the location of the Gorgones. Perseus approached Medusa as she slept and beheaded her with eyes averted to avoid her petrifying visage. Invisibility protected him from her vengeful sisters. On his journey back to Greece, Perseus came across the Ethiopian princess Andromeda chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea-monster. He slew the beast and brought her with him back to Greece as his bride. He returned to King Polydektes and turned him to stone, before traveling on to his grandfather's kingdom to claim the throne.
Bronzes of Herakles are abundant in the many museum collections reviewed by Forum, but Perseus is missing from most. We did not find any figures similar to this one in the many references checked.AB23901. Roman Bronze, Figure of Perseus Holding Head of Medusa; BnF Bronzes -, Morgan Bronzes -, ROM Metalware -, BMC Bronzes -, Louvre Bronzes -, Choice, green patina, intact except for missing blade and mounting peg on left foot, reverse bronze standing figure of Perseus, 13cm (5") tall, nude but for the Phrygian helmet of Hades on his head, holding Medusa's head by the hair in his right hand, his harpa (blade missing) in his left hand, stand provided; ex Griffin Gallery of Ancient Art (Boca Raton FL); rare; $2800.00 (€2828.00)
Judah, Limestone Dome Weight, 8 Shekels (90.151g), c. 800 - 586 B.C.
AS111511. Judah, limestone dome 8 shekels weight; cf. Tushingham fig. 79, 6 (91.87g); Hecht A 22 (92.90g), Hendin Weights 191 (91.0g, pink limestone), Choice, 90.151g, 42.4mm diameter, 33.5mm high, pre-exile, 800 - 586 B.C.; creamy white limestone, inscribed
(8 shekels) in hieratic on top; ex Shick Coins (Max Shick, Israel, 2013); rare; $2600.00 (€2626.00) Roman, Bronze Krater Handle Ornamented with Lions, c. 1st - 3rd Century A.D.
Click here to see the line drawing of Catalogue des bronzes antiques de la Bibliothèque National no. 1446, a nearly identical handle in the Bibliothèque nationale de France published in 1895.AM23903. Roman bronze krater handle; cf. BnF Bronzes 1446, Superb, about as made with the addition of an an attractive green patina, c. 1st - 3rd Century A.D.; 12 cm (4 7/8") tall, on the upper part, which would have been attached atop the rim of the vessel: a lion's head faces inward, its back arching above, between two lions lying in opposite directions, on the lower part: acanthus and scrolls between two snakes with heads upward, ex Griffin Gallery of Ancient Art (Boca Raton FL); $2200.00 (€2222.00)
Middle Elamite, Susa, Terracotta Fertility Goddess, c. 1500 - 1000 B.C.
Susa was settled about 4000 B.C. and has yielded striking pottery finds from that prehistoric period. A rich production followed of objects for daily use, ritual, and luxury living, finely carved in various materials or fashioned of clay. Monumental sculpture was made in stone or bronze, and dramatic friezes were composed of brilliantly glazed bricks. Among the discoveries are tiny, intricately carved cylinder seals and splendid jewelry. Clay balls marked with symbols offer fascinating testimony to the very beginnings of writing; clay tablets from later periods bearing inscriptions in cuneiform record political history, literature, business transactions, and mathematical calculations.AT23899. Elamite Terracotta Fertility Goddess; Harper Susa fig. 133, Superb, complete and intact, c. 1500 - 1000 B.C.; mold made, beige clay, 15.3 cm (6") tall, standing facing holding bare breasts in cupped hands, nude but for herringbone shoulder straps crossing between the breasts, earrings, torque necklaces, and bead belly chains, navel and the pubic triangle indicated, ex Griffin Gallery of Ancient Art (Boca Raton FL); $1750.00 (€1767.50)
Roman Egypt, Silenus Head Terracotta Lamp, c. 2nd Century A.D.
The Getty Museum lamp is slightly larger and a little finer style, but this lamp is very very similar and certainly worthy of any collection. See it here.AL23908. Silenus Head Terracotta Lamp; cf. Getty Museum p. 440, 600; Kestner Lamps p. 417, 405, Fantastic type in nice collectible condition, handle and tip of nozzle missing, a few small bumps and chips, soot marks, length 8.5 cm (3 1/8") long, c. 2nd Century A.D.; mold made, red clay, in the shape of the head of Silenus, with mustache, knit eyebrows, smiling, crown of leaves and fruit alluding to Bacchus, large filling whole at top of head, nozzle at chin, ribbon handle (missing), raised oval ring base; ex Griffin Gallery of Ancient Art (Boca Raton FL); $900.00 (€909.00)
Phoenician, Bronze Trapezoid Cube Weight (Ayin - 21.595g), c. 7th - 4th Century B.C.
This weight is the usual shape for the type, an inverted truncated pyramid - a cube with the bottom slightly smaller than the top. The type dates from perhaps as early as the the 9th century B.C. to the end of the Persian period. They were undoubtedly used to weigh silver bullion for transactions. Kletter lists nine weights with circle marks, ranging from 2.55g to 80.67g. Some, like ours, were incised with straight lines or punches. Most were found at Akko.AS111486. Phoenician, bronze trapezoid cube weight; cf. Hendin Weights 245 (21.63), Kletter 25 (21.17g), Hecht A 47 (20.03g), Choice, 21.595g (3 shekels?), 14.3x16.6x12.9mm, c. 7th - 4th Century B.C.; inverted truncated pyramid (a cube with the bottom slightly smaller than the top), incised circle (Phoenician ayin) on top created with a 8 short straight line cuts, ex Shick Coins (Max Shick, Israel, 2012); $800.00 (€808.00)
Judah, Limestone Dome Weight, 24 Shekels (Fragment, 113.239g), 800 - 586 B.C.
Robert Deutsch identified this as a 20 shekel weight, uncertain of the full weight, but according to David Hendin 20 shekel dome weights are not known to exist. Also, in his Excavations in Jerusalem, Tushingham lists a similar creamy white limestone 24 shekel dome weight with the same symbol, and at 268.3g, it is clearly a 24 shekel weight. Yohanan Aharoni in "The Use of Hieratic Numerals in Hebrew Ostraca and the Shekel Weights" discusses another 24 shekel weight with the same symbols (fig. 2c), and describes the use of these symbols for 24 shekels as "unique." Apparently it is not unique, but it is undoubtedly extremely rare.AS111510. Judah, dome 24 shekel weight fragment; Tushingham fig. 79, 9 (whole, 268.3g, same hieratic mark); see Aharoni Hieratic p. 16, fig. 2c, Choice, but a fragment of about 42% of the original weight; 113.239g, 53.5mm diameter, 40.8mm high, pre-exile, 800 - 586 B.C.; carved creamy white limestone dome, hieratic
(24 shekels) inscribed on top; ex Archaeological Center (Robert Deutsch, Tel Aviv, Israel), auction 51 (17 Oct 2011), lot 71; extremely rare; $800.00 (€808.00) Roman, Eastern Mediterranean, Glass Double Balsamarium (Cosmetic Tube), 4th Century A.D.
This type was used to store eye makeup. One tube would have held kohl, a black paste made with powdered galena. The other tube would have held another color, perhaps made with an ochre clay (for red or brown) or powdered malachite (for green or blue).AG23900. cf. ROM Glass 458, Corning II 744, Princeton 426, Lightfoot NMS 262, Yale Gallery 321; 11.5 cm (4 1/8") tall, Choice, complete and intact, weathering with areas of iridescence, 4th Century A.D.; double balsamarium, free-blown thick heavy pale translucent blue-green glass, 20.0 cm (8") tall, two tubes joined side-by-side and sharing a thick bottom (made by folding a single tube), deep cleft between the tubes on one side, the other side filled, rim flattened, small handles applied from rim to side, single thin spiral thread decoration applied after folding; ex Griffin Gallery of Ancient Art (Boca Raton FL); $700.00 (€707.00)
Western Asiatic, Black Stone Duck Weight (7.736g), Bead, or Amulet, c. Early 1st Millennium B.C.
Carved hematite weights were made in Mesopotamia in from the Old Babylonian period until Neo Babylonian times, c. 1900 - 1600 B.C. Hematite is widely found in Syria and Turkey, but was imported into Mesopotamia because it was not found locally. After about 1600 B.C., weights made in Mesopotamia were carved from a black stone that looks similar but which is not hematite. Similar ducks were also carved in lapis lazuli, agate, carnelian and other stones. Pierced ducks may have been used as beads or amulets.AS111496. cf. Hendin Weights p. 147, 64 (similar, but hematite, 10.29g, 30 giru) and 67 (8.06g, shekel, but hematite and unpierced), Choice, surface chips, 7.736g, 12.6x22.7x14.1mm, c. early 1st Millennium B.C.; reverse carved black stone (not hematite), the form of stylized duck, its head and neck turned back, hugging the body with the head resting flat on the center of the back, pierced crosswise below the neck and head, flat base; ex Collector Antiquities (Dr. Bron Lipkin, London, UK, 2012); $550.00 (€555.50)
Roman Syria-Palestina, Jewish, Lead Bulla Seal, 7 Branched Menorah, c. 5th - 6th Century A.D.
A bulla (plural, bullae) is a lump of clay or lead molded around a cord and stamped with a seal that identifies the sender. With a bulla in place, a container cannot be violated without visible damage to either the bulla or the cord, revealing the tampering. Bullae depicting a menorah are known but very rare and not well documented. Dattari-Savio p. 327, 3 is a 1901 rubbing of a very similar menorah sealing. Michael Still lists two menorah sealings in his thesis on Roman seals, 1696 with a Latin inscription reverse, 1765 with a Hebrew inscription reverse. The recently published catalogue of the Vossen collection by Gert Boersema and Bill Dalzell, has two Menorah seals, numbers 181 and 182, both with blank reverses. There are also a few examples known from auctions. A FORVM member posted a bulla of this exact type from his collection on the Classical Numismatic Discussion on the Forum Ancient Coins website. We received three examples of this type on consignment, all with the same fire damage, suggesting they were found together.JD98655. Lead bulla (tag seal), VF, chip on reverse, light earthen deposits, raised bumps from exposure to an ancient fire that heated and expanded air bubbles within the lead, weight 4.679 g, maximum diameter 15.9 mm, c. 5th - 6th century A.D.; obverse seven branched menorah with tripod base; reverse lulav, uncertain Syriac inscription; very rare; $540.00 (€545.40)
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