Lot 932

Description

Combination of a libation bowl (phiale with omphalos) and a four-columned stand, fashioned as a single cohesive piece from ceramic elements joined in the leather-hard state prior to firing. Conical base below with four triangular apertures in the wall, three grooves at the border. At the head of the cone a two-stepped range, on which rests a profiled column with seven superimposed tori. This column projects into the omphalos of the bowl above. On the border of the base with the three grooves four “columns” on which the phiale rests. Two of each type placed opposite one another: two women clad in chiton and himation (caryatids), holding with their bent arms, drawn up before the chest, one each of the long braids falling forward over the shoulder. The other two “columns” are wide plaques with six metopes depicting four griffins and two other mythical creatures. These columns support a phiale with a base that is convex and ribbed on the interior, with a central omphalos that, after a sharp angular transition with a step, merges into a steep, funnel-shaped wall. Total height 18.5 cm. Apart from some areas of abrasion or roughening of an otherwise smooth, softly lustrous surface, a completely intact piece. CULTURAL ASSET!

Provenance: A private collection from Upper Austria (estate), acquired by the father in the 1980s on the art market in Austria and southern Germany.

Condition: I - II Questions about the lot?