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Gilded silver Phiale wine ribbed bowl from the Greco-Achaemenid period, circa 500–300 BC. This luxurious vessel measures approximately 18 cm in diameter and exemplifies the opulence of fine Greek and Persian craftsmanship during this era. The bowl features a shallow, broad form with a gently flared rim, designed both for aesthetic appeal and practical use.
The surface of the bowl is richly gilded, adding a radiant golden glow that accentuates its luxurious nature. Its most distinctive feature is the ribbed design, with evenly spaced, decorative flutes encircling the exterior that create a textured, elegant pattern and enhance its visual impact. The craftsmanship demonstrates a high level of skill, combining precise metalworking techniques with ornamental artistry.
Intended as a high-status drinking vessel for ceremonial or banquet use, this gilded silver Phiale reflects the cultural exchange and artistic refinement characteristic of the Greco-Achaemenid period. The combination of precious materials and intricate decoration signifies its importance as a symbol of wealth and prestige in social or religious contexts.REFERENCE #
MW_GR_1007
Greek, 500 B.C.E.
D. 18cm
Fine condition
$14950
Four leaves from an extremely early Biblical codex. 4 leaves, with one complete leaf and a lower half (bisected horizontally across the page) from an early Armenian translation of John 10-11, the complete leaf 320mm. by 230mm., double column, 17 lines in dark brown ink in large and imposing erkat’agir majuscules (the so-called ‘Iron Writing’, the earliest Armenian script to survive in manuscript) with capitals with long trailing descenders, notably similar to British Library, Add. MS.21932, trimmed to edges of text, Armenia, probably ninth or tenth century; plus the lower half of a leaf from a Biblical or liturgical manuscript, 200mm. by 135mm., with remains of double column, 12 lines in light brown ink in a smaller and squarer hand closer to that of Dublin, Chester Beatty MSS.554 and 556, both twelfth century (Catalogue of the Armenian Manuscripts, 1958 II: pls.1 and 4), Armenia, probably twelfth century; all leaves recovered from bindings and with stains, tears, folds and later pen-trials and notes, but overall in fair and sound condition.
This is an extremely early and important witness to the Gospel of Mark, written within decades of the death of Jerome and Augustine of Hippo; it is perhaps from the Imperial library of Constantinople, the last of the great libraries of the ancient world This manuscript is from an important cache of early fragments, discovered in 2003, and reported to have been from a pre-War Armenian collection of antiquities and manuscripts in France. Five Biblical fragments, including the present one, were published by P.M. Head in the Journal of Theological Studies, ns.59 (2008), with short earlier notices in TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism, 8 (2003), Bulletin of the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 36 (2003) and the Tyndale Bulletin, 56 (2005). They include fragments of Luke (fifth century, and probably the oldest witness to that part of the text), John (late fifth century or even c.500), another fragment of Mark (fifth to sixth century) and Romans (sixth or seventh century). Subsequently, the other fragments have been identified as the oldest extant witness to the Lucianic recension of Jeremiah in Greek (early to mid-fifth century: Head ibid., pp.1-11), the only surviving witness to the Greek original text of the Testamentum Domini Nostri Jesu Christi (fifth century: Corcoran and Salway in Journal of Theological Studies, ns.62 (2011) pp.118-35), and the only surviving fragments of a series of imperial edicts made by third-century emperors and now named the Fragmenta Londiniensia Anteiustiniana (fifth century: Corcoran and Salway in Zeitschrift der Savigny Stiftung für Rechtsgeschichte: romanistische Abteilung, 127 (2010) pp.677-8, and Roman Legal Tradition, 6 (2010). Clearly these fragments of six early Bibles, a pseudo-Apostolic Church Order, and records of imperial edicts were once in a large and important library of the ancient world, in scope and chronological range far beyond that of a wealthy individual. There were large institutional libraries in Upper Egypt (such as that of the monastery founded by Pachomius c.320), Roman North Africa (as used by Augustine of Hippo in the late fourth and early fifth century), Milan (as used by Ambrose in the late fourth century) and Alexandria (as used by Bishop Gregory of Alexandria in the mid-fourth century), but the Eastern Empire was increasingly centred on Constantinople as its outlying territories fell prey to barbarian invasion. Jerome notes that the Lucianic recension of the Septuagint (including the fragment of Jeremiah noted above) was current only in Constantinople and Antioch in the early fifth century, and the collection of imperial edicts has been tentatively identified as also coming from the city. If so, it seems likely that they come from the Imperial Library in Constantinople, founded by Emperor Constantius II (reigned 337-61) as a scriptorium with the express purpose of copying fragile papyrus documents onto more stable vellum. Under Emperor Valens in 372 it employed four Greek and three Latin scribes. It survived a fire in 473, was sacked by the Normans in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, and eventually destroyed only after the conquest of the city by the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The only other manuscript thought to be from this source is that of the Archimedes Palimpsest, which surfaced first in Constantinople in 1840 and is now in a private collection in America.
Reference #
MS_BZ_1006
Byzantine
W. 10 cm, H. 2 cm
Fine Condition
SOLD
In translucent deep blue glass with opaque yellow and turquoise threads. The vessel has a wide everted rim edged in turquoise, a short neck and a long tubular body widening at the rounded base. A trail of yellow spirals around the upper half of the body in an anticlockwise direction. The lower half is decorated with rows of turquoise and yellow threads tooled into a zigzag pattern, three trails of yellow below. Two handles in yellow are applied towards the middle of the body.
Exhibited: San Diego Museum of Man, c. 1956
Literature: A less elegant example is illustrated in E. Marianne Stern, Birgit Schlick-Nolte, ‘Early Glass of the Ancient World, 1600 BC-AD 50. The Ernesto Wolf Collection’, (Germany, 1994) pp. 204-205.
GL_GR_1005
Greco-Phoenician, 500 B.C.E. – 400 B.C.E.
H. 12.4 cm
Intact
Sold
Collection of the Dubois family, USA, acquired c.1920 and thence by descent.
Amphorisque with a dark blue background. Dark blue, light blue and yellow opaque glass.
REFERENCE #
GL_RM_1014
Greco-Phoenician, 500 B.C.E. – 400 B.C.E.
H. 9.7 cm
Excellent condition
Price
available upon request
Baidun Family Collection
According to ancient literary sources, the sphinx was a monster with the face and bust of a woman, the talons of a lion, the body of a dog, a serpent’s tail and wings of a bird. Its pale appearance, venomous mouth and stony gaze characterised this demon of divine origin. Its presence amongst humans created uncertainty and fear. It is possible that this hybrid had its origin in Egyptian iconography, where it was represented with the body of a feline and a human face, and was probably related to the divine power of the pharaoh.
This terracotta piece shows a monster seated on its haunches and in profile, with its head turned to the right toward the public. The female countenance has idealised features of great beauty. The thick, wavy hair is crowned with a polos or crown on the Corinthian model. On the right wing the rendering of the feathers shows a clear interest in the anatomical details of birds: the feathers inserted into the body itself are small and short, rather like scales, while those at the extreme end of the wing are long and narrow, to help the bird take flight.
The sculptural prototype of Greek sphinxes appears around the 7th century BC in terracotta, and was usually found decorating large receptacles. A century later they appeared in marble crowning seated ex-votos on a column. The monstrous, aggressive nature of the hybrid was channelled into funerary art, serving as an apotropaic symbol to keep away malevolent forces. It was usual, therefore, to find this iconography in metopes and hollow acroteria in Greek necropoleis of the 6th century BC, usually with the animal in profile and turning its head toward the public in an attitude of defiance.
SI_GR_1034
Civilization Greek,
6th – 5th century B.C.E.
H. 18 cm
In a good state of preservation, without any restoration.
Private collection G. A., Gardena, California, USA.
According to ancient literary sources, the sphinx was a monster with the face and bust of a woman, the talons of a lion, the body of a dog, a serpent’s tail and wings of a bird. Its pale appearance, venomous mouth and stony gaze characterised this demon of divine origin. Its presence amongst humans created uncertainty and fear. It is possible that this hybrid had its origin in Egyptian iconography, where it was represented with the body of a feline and a human face, and was probably related to the divine power of the pharaoh.
This terracotta piece shows a monster seated on its haunches and in profile, with its head turned to the right toward the public. The female countenance has idealised features of great beauty. The thick, wavy hair is crowned with a polos or crown on the Corinthian model. On the right wing the rendering of the feathers shows a clear interest in the anatomical details of birds: the feathers inserted into the body itself are small and short, rather like scales, while those at the extreme end of the wing are long and narrow, to help the bird take flight.
The sculptural prototype of Greek sphinxes appears around the 7th century BC in terracotta, and was usually found decorating large receptacles. A century later they appeared in marble crowning seated ex-votos on a column. The monstrous, aggressive nature of the hybrid was channelled into funerary art, serving as an apotropaic symbol to keep away malevolent forces. It was usual, therefore, to find this iconography in metopes and hollow acroteria in Greek necropoleis of the 6th century BC, usually with the animal in profile and turning its head toward the public in an attitude of defiance.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
SI_GR_1034
Size
Condition
In a good state of preservation, without any restoration.
Private collection G. A., Gardena, California, USA.
A beautiful aubergine Greek two tone core formed glass Oinochoai with opaque blue and opaque yellow decoration. A trefoil mouth with a single handle.
Cf. Grose D., The Toledo Museum of Art Early Ancient Glass, no. 114, pg. 96
GL_GR_1003
Greek, 600 B.C.E. – 500 B.C.E.
10 cm
Fine Condition. A small chip on the rim
Price available upon request
