Greek Hellenistic Steatite Bowl Aphrodite / Inscription

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Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Jun 4, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-06-04 10:00:00 2020-06-04 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Asian, Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-5185
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• Lot Description
  Ancient Greece, Late Hellenistic, ca. 1st century BCE. Finely carved from black steatite, a striking bowl with a bust of a goddess delineated in relief on the tondo and a Greek inscription on the rim above the image. Finely delineated folds of drapery cover most but reveal her right breast and neck. Her youthful face presents large almond-shaped eyes, an aquiline nose, and full parted lips - and this lovely visage is crowned by a centrally parted coiffure adorned by a diadem, with two rows of long banana curls framing her face and falling to her shoulders. This hairstyle is characteristic of representations of Egyptian goddesses such as Isis and Hathor as well as the Ptolemaic queens, and the uncovered breast is characteristic of representations of Aphrodite. All suggests that the image likely represents the syncretic goddess Isis-Aphrodite who arose in Alexandria during the 3rd century BCE. Prior to this, Isis was associated with Hathor, goddess of love and marriage, in a sense the Egyptian equivalent to the Greek Aphrodite. Size: 3.15" in diameter (8 cm)
  
  Adorning the lower rim of the bowl are traces of decoration, perhaps pointed flower petals or leaves from a floral swag, and the section of the rim above the goddess bears a Greek inscription. Inscribed in two lines of text, the words of the first line are separated by an incised circular motif and flanked at either end by two additional incised circles. Furthermore, a punch mark separates the words in the second line, and also appears at the end of the line. The inscription translates as follows: "Kleomenes (son) of Apollodoros the Athenian made (it)." Note that many of the letters have serifs. This, along with the fact that the alpha has a broken crossbar, is consistent with the late Hellenistic or early Roman period. Kleomenes refers to the Hellenistic sculptor, who was also the son of the famous Athenian sculptor Apollodoros. The inscription "Kleomenes, son of Apollodoros the Athenian," also appears on the sculpture of the Medici Venus - this said, that inscription is believed to be a later transcription of the ancient signature. In addition, one "Kleomenes Athenaios" signed a sculpture of Aphrodite located in Piacenza as well as an altar in Florence (Uffizi, inv. 612). Furthermore, Pliny the Elder (Natural History 36.33) states that the sculptor Kleomenes may have created a sculpture of the Thespiades - Thespius' fifty daughters with whom Heracles sired fifty sons in a single night. The inscription on this bowl probably does not suggest that the bowl itself was created by Keomenes. Instead, it more likely refers to a sculpture of the image depicted beneath the inscription that was made by Kleomenes. It is also possible that the bowl itself is a votive offering to a sanctuary. Finally this signature also may have served as advertising for the artist's sculpture and his workshop.
  
  Scholars have noted that the design of carved stone medallions was actually inspired by impressive luxury arts in toreutics such as silver bowls and gold roundels that featured medallions with high relief busts. The styling of this bowl - as a carved medallion with a high relief bust - is also similar to Hellenistic-Roman dishes with medallions representing busts or figural scenes carved in dark stone like schist or steatite. These have been found in Egypt (designated as Alexandrian) as well as Gandhara. This blending of images of Egyptian or Greek gods and heroes adorning Ghandaran stone dishes suggests a rich transcultural exchange between the ancient cultures of the West and Asia.
  
  This piece is accompanied by an Art Loss Register Certificate.
  
  Provenance: private New York, USA collection; ex-Bonham’s, London, 10 June 1997; accompanied by Art Loss Register Certificate.
  
  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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  #155923

  Condition

  Professionally reassembled from large fragments. The lower part of the rim is restored. Normal surface wear with a few chips and scratches as shown.
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