< Previous14A STATUETTE OF A SEATED CAT H. 12 cm. Bronze, hollow cast. Egyptian, Late Period, 26th–30th Dynasty, ca. 664–332 B.C. CHF 22,000 The cat sits proudly erect, its tail coiled around its paws. Its beautiful contours are shown to advantage when viewed in profile. The tapering head with upright, engraved ears is typical of the African wildcat. The eyes, nose and muzzle are carefully modelled. The right ear was originally adorned with a gold earring. Angular and circular recesses below the forepaws and the buttocks to attach the statuette. Lacuna on the right below the root of the tail. Tip of tail and some small lacunae in the left ear restored. A fine drill hole through the left ear. Votive statuette. Formerly priv. coll. David and Judy Starling, England; acquired 1996 from Arieh Klein, Jerusalem. Most Egyptian bronze cats date from the Late Period. As the animal sacred to the sun god Ra and to the goddess of regeneration Hathor, however, the cat was already of importance in the New Kingdom. From ca. 1000 B.C. onwards, the cat was the image par excellence of the appeased goddess, who was symbolized by the cat-goddess Bastet. Cf. A. Wiese - M. Page-Gasser, Ägypten. Augenblicke der Ewigkeit. Unbekannte Schätze aus Schweizer Privatbesitz, cat. Basel (Basel/Mainz 1997) 274 ff., nos. 185–186 with illus.15A RELIEF WITH A BARN OWL H. 10.7 cm. Stucco. Egyptian, Late Period or Ptolemaic, ca. 664–150 B.C. CHF 5,800 The owl looks at the beholder from deep set, circular and watchful eyes. Its imposing, strong beak with an offset, smooth tip reaches far down its face, which is framed by a heart-shaped face veil. The feathers of the veil as well as the fine plumage above the beak are individually rendered with finest incisions. The lower edge of the ruff is fluffy. Top of head, neck and reverse smoothed. The relief is broken diagonally at the neck. Formerly priv. coll. N. O., New York, NY. The limestone relief of a barn owl from Saqqara in the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, inv.-no. E17972 (online) is very similar in size and style. The rendering of the eyes, the beak and the face veil is closely comparable. Traces of the original polychromy preserved.16AN ALABASTRON WITH FELINE AND OWL H. 9.1 cm. Clay, brown and matt red glaze. Greek, Corinthian, late 7th–early 6th cent. B.C. CHF 5,800 A powerfully built feline striding to the right dominates the vase. Opposite, an owl. Both turn their heads to gaze frontally. Incised rosettes of various sizes in the interstices. Pierced handle for suspension. Tongue pattern on upper surface of lip-plate and at neck; dots around rim; conjoined rays at base. Added red and incision used for anatomical detail. Slightly worn. A small area of surface loss filled in next to the owl’s head. Body of vessel intact. Sur- face slightly abraded. Formerly priv. coll. N. Pellaton, Bienne, Switzerland; acquired from Münzen und Medaillen A.G. 12.3.1978. Thereafter by descent in the family. Published: Jean-David Cahn AG, Tiere und Mischwe- sen, catalogue 11, 1999, no. 28 with illus. For the style and painting, especially the incisions for the anatomical details of the animals, cf. two alabastra from Taranto (20685) and Delos (447) in: D. A. Amyx, Corinthian Vase Painting of the Archaic Period (Berkeley, Los Angeles, London 1988) 88 ff., pls., 39,1; 41,2.17A CUP WITH CONICAL NECK AND RAM PROTOME Dm. max. 13.5 cm. Clay. Eastern Central Europe, Early Iron Age, 7th‒6th cent. B.C. CHF 12,800 Tripartite vessel with tapering neck and slightly flaring rim. Offset, rounded shoulder. Con- ical lower section. At the transition to the shoulder, the neck is decorated by encircling grooves. On three sides of the body a boss below semi-circular grooves. In each of the in- terstices two antithetical groups of parallel grooves form a chevron (German: Sparren). The handle is decorated with longitudinal grooves. A spout in the shape of a ram protome emerges from the vessel’s belly. The ram has horns that curve forwards. The eyes and mouth are drilled and serve as spout. Typical cup of the late phase of the Bronze Age Lusatian Cul- ture or of the period immediately afterwards. The variant with a ram protome that serves as spout is extremely rare. The vessel was probably used during ceremonies. Reassembled from large fragments. One fairly large fragment and a few smaller ones at the neck restored. Formerly Coll. Dr. Siegfried Zimmer, ca. 1950. Label with inv. no. “262” and findspot: “Petschken- dorf”. A second label with: “Schlesien”. Cf. K. C. Rebay, Hallstattzeitliche Grabfunde aus Donnerskirchen. Burgenländische Heimatblätter 67/4, 2005, 165‒210.Next >