CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

AN ETRUSCAN BRONZE TORCH HOLDER
CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.
14 in. (35.6 cm.) high

Provenance

Swiss private collection, acquired prior to 1985.

Literature

S. Haynes, Etruscan Bronzes, London, 1985, pp. 186 and 284-5, no. 107 and 107a.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve. 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

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Lot Essay

The spirally fluted stem emerges from a stylized snake's head. The wick of the torch would have been wound round the prongs and then threaded through the ring to keep the lighted end upright. For a depiction of its use see an Etruscan bronze mirror in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no. 96.18.15.

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