Lot 105
105
A GREEK PARCEL GILT SILVER HEAD OF SILENOS
A GREEK PARCEL GILT SILVER HEAD OF SILENOS

Details
A GREEK PARCEL GILT SILVER HEAD OF SILENOS
CIRCA LATE 4TH CENTURY B.C.

The exquisitely cast head of Dionysos' attendant with a snub nose, large horse ears, full lower lip and lidded naturalistic eyes with recessed pupils beneath raised arching brows, with incised and gilt wavy strands of hair and beard, the concave back incised with the Greek letter epsilon
1in. (2.55cm.) long

Lot Essay

Similar heads ornament the tondos of cups or serve as handle terminals on the sides of vessels. The Greek letter on the back of the present example evidently identified to the craftsman the placement location. Compare for example the Silenos head in a silver cup from Tomb II at Vergina, no. 164 in Yalouris, et al, The Search for Alexander.