Fine Greek Core-Formed Glass Oinochoe - White & Purple

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Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Feb 13, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-02-13 10:00:00 2020-02-13 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-4848
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• Lot Description
  Ancient Greece, Eastern Mediterranean, ca. late 6th to early 5th century BCE. A stunning oinochoe of a dignified form created via the core-forming process with opaque white glass. The perfume-holding vessel exhibits a flared discoid foot, an inverted piriform body with a rounded shoulder, a tapered neck surmounted by a trefoil-style pouring spout, and a sinuous handle arching from the back of the spout to the shoulder. Lining the trefoil rim is a single trail of applied amethyst-hued glass that has naturally darkened to a metallic brown hue. The body is adorned with similarly hued glass in thick rings around the shoulder, tightly feathered zigzags across the midsection, and a trio of slender rings along the lower body. Smooth layers of silvery and rainbow-hued iridescence have formed across the exterior and imbue the vessel with an opulent presentation evocative of ancient Greece. Size: 1.8" W x 3.3" H (4.6 cm x 8.4 cm); 3.8" H (9.7 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  According to the Corning Museum of Glass, core forming is "the technique of forming a vessel by winding or gathering molten glass around a core supported by a rod. After forming, the object is removed from the rod and annealed. After annealing, the core is removed by scraping." This process of glass making was begun in the late 16th century BCE by glassmakers of Mesopotamia, and then adopted by Egyptian glassmakers in the 15th century BCE. The technique almost came to an end in the so-called Dark Ages of Mediterranean civilization (1200 to 900 BCE); however, by the 9th century BCE a new generation of glassmakers took up the technique once again, and between the 6th and 4th century BCE core-forming spread throughout the Mediterranean.
  
  For a strikingly similar example with a purple ring surrounding the foot, please see "Shining Vessels: Ancient Glass from Greek, Roman and Islamic Times." Fortuna Fine Arts, Ltd., New York, 1991, p. 5, fig. 2.
  
  Another strikingly similar example, of a larger form, hammered for $17,500 at Christie's Special Exhibition Gallery "Antiquities" auction (sale 2490, December 7, 2011, lot 62).
  
  Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-private S.K. Heninger, Jr. collection, North Carolina, USA, acquired in the 1970s
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #152845

  Condition

  Repaired from multiple pieces, with areas of restoration to foot and handle, with resurfacing and light overpainting along new material and break lines. Small chip to lateral area of rim, with minor abrasions and encrustations to body, rim, handle, and foot, and minor pitting. Light earthen deposits throughout as well as faint silver and rainbow iridescence across body, neck, and rim.
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