CIRCA 300 B.C.

Details

A HELLENISTIC POLYCHROME PAINTED ASKOS
CIRCA 300 B.C.
Surmounted by the sea-monster Scylla, with her arms raised at the neck of the askos, clutching ball in her right hand, two hound-head protomes emerging at either side, her serpentine body forming the handle behind, outspread wings at the shoulder, mask of Medusa below the neck, the body with painted figure of a Hippocamp on either side, a palmette beneath the tail and remains of an encircling laurel wreath below, details painted on white gesso ground, repaired
13½ in. (34.2 cm.) high

Provenance

Formerly in the collection of Derwa Arthur Bergilers.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
Exhibition catalogues: de Warande, Grieks & Italisch Aardewerk, Turnhout, 1986, p. 94, coll. 357; and Céramiques antiques de Grèce et d'Italie dans le patrimoine liégeois, Liège, 1987, p. 82, no. 104.

For the type, cf. The Pomerance Collection of Ancient Art, The Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1966, p. 100, no. 117. Scylla, transformed into a multi-headed sea monster by one of Circe's evil spells, lurked in the Sicilian sea and devoured hapless sailors and dolphins.

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