Lot 1A
Egypt, Romano-Egyptian Period, ca. 30 BCE to 2nd century CE. A delightful, mold-made pottery flask in the form of a cluster of grapes flanked by a pair of broad leaves and surmounted by a flared spout. A petite suspension loop or lug handle is located on the bare verso. The grapes exhibited in this example are an important symbol of Bacchus (Greek Dionysus / Dionysos), the god of wine, fertility, and agriculture. The fruit is also associated with resurrection and may played a role in the transfiguration process undertaken by kings as part of the journey into the afterlife. Supplies of red and white wine have been found in the burial chamber of Tutankhamun, symbolically positioned to aid in the various stages of the kings transition to the afterlife. It has additionally been suggested that grapes were seen as a symbol of royalty, with painted depictions of the fruits often used to decorate royal thrones and garden shrines. Size: 1.8" L x 2.9" W x 4.2" H (4.6 cm x 7.4 cm x 10.7 cm); 4.7" H (11.9 cm) on included custom stand.
Exhibited with the Lily Place Collection, Minneapolis Institute of Art, from 1925 to 1958, ref. no. 25.309; and in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023, reference number EL01.092.1998.
Provenance: Collection of Dr. W. Benson Harer, Los Angeles, California, USA; Exhibited in the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), California State University, San Bernardino from 1998 to 2023, reference number EL01.092.1998; ex-Superior Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA, 1976; ex-L. Blumka collection, 1958; ex-Minneapolis Institute of Art, bequeathed by Ms. Lily Place, 1925, ref. no. 25.309; ex-Cairo Suq, Egypt
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#182168
- Condition: Chipping to rim and 2 stable hairline fissures to interior of spout. Nicks and abrasions to surface as shown, but otherwise intact and excellent with liberal remaining detail and encrustations to surface. Old collection number inscribed on exterior of rim.
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