CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A GREEK BRONZE ATHENA
CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C.
9 1⁄2 in. (24 cm.) high

Provenance

Swiss collection, Geneva, photographed by Frédéric Boissonnas in 1956 (No. 55. 193).
French private collection, Paris, prior to 1987.
Arachne Database no: 1140696.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Claudio Corsi Specialist, Head of Department

ccorsi@christies.com +44 (0) 20 7389 2607

Lot Essay

Athena, the goddess of War, is depicted wearing a long peplos reaching her sandalled feet, styled into an ample fold at the hips. The dress is pinned at the shoulders and the chest is covered by the aegis, a protective device made from animal hide and gold tassles decorated with a gorgoneion and snakes, which the goddess wears in battle together with the Corinthian helmet and the (now missing) spear. The distinctive pose of this figure, with the head turned on one side and the forehead almost leaning on the lance is reminiscent of the 'Pensive Athena' type, which shows the usually fearsome and imposing goddess in a more intimate and meditative pose. For the type see the marble relief from the Classical Period in the Acropolis Museum in Athens (acc. no. 695), P. Demargne, 'Athena', in LIMC, vol. II, Zurich and Munich, 1984, no. 625.

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