Greek Hellenistic Silver Mastos, ex Christie's, 318.6 g

About Auction

Live

Holiday Sale - Antiquities / Ethnographic Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 12, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-12-12 10:00:00 2019-12-12 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Holiday Sale - Antiquities / Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/holiday-sale---antiquities-ethnographic-art-4743
What to give this holiday season? You'll find plenty of options in our Dec. 12 auction that will cater to all tastes and budgets. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

View Full Catalog (382)

• Lot Description
  **Holiday Shipping Deadlines**
  USA Domestic: 12/14 for Standard; 12/23 for Express; International: 12/7 for Standard; 12/19 for Express
  
  Greece, Hellenistic Period, ca. late 2nd to 1st century BCE. A stunning bowl of a substantial size in the form of a mastos or mastoid, a drinking vessel shaped like a breast, shaped from near-pure (99%) silver. The vessel is conical in form with a rounded base, gradually-expanding walls with a thin rim, a deep basin, and a band of raised bead-form molding in repousse around the interior lip. During the Hellenistic period, wealthy Greeks used silver as a marker of wealth more commonly than they had in the past. During the 5th century, a new silver source was discovered in the Laurium Hills in Attica, which was mined extensively soon thereafter. The profits from the mines enriched several Athenian families and created a greater pool of silver with which artisans could produce fine goods like this cup. Lucite display stand for photography purposes only. Size: 5.75" W x 3.5" H (14.6 cm x 8.9 cm); quality of silver: 99%; total weight: 318.6 grams.
  
  The mastos form seems to be deliberately breast-shaped, based on archaeological findings suggesting ritual functions for these cups. Mastoid cups and ceramic votive representations of breasts have been found at sanctuaries to Diana and Hercules - two figures in classical religion associated with birth, nursing, and rearing children. Fascinatingly, some of these even have dedications made by wet nurses. Some scholars theorize that the drinking of breast milk from a vessel like this one by an elderly or deathly ill adult symbolized rebirth in the afterlife.
  
  For a stylistically-similar example with intricate motifs in repousse, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 22.50.2: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/251170
  
  Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Christie's, New York Antiquities auction (sale 3748, June 4, 2015, lot 44); ex-William Froelich collection, New York, USA, acquired in 1991 from Boris Mussienko, Upper Marlboro, Maryland, USA
  
  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.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #146161

  Condition

  Minor abrasions to exterior and interior surfaces, with light indentations, and softening to some repousse motifs, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits within some recessed areas, and fine patina throughout.
• Shipping Info

  • All shipping is handled in-house for your convenience. Your invoice from Artemis Gallery will include shipping calculation instructions. If in doubt, please inquire BEFORE bidding for estimated shipping costs for individual items.

• Buyer's Premium
  • 26.50 %