CQ1 Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2023 Editorial We will send you detailed information in advance of each of these events and look forward to your visit. Dear readers This March, after three years of pandemic, there was finally a “normal" TEFAF Maas- tricht again, as usual with two weekends. The fair was very well organised and thus a worthy continuation of the fairs before Covid. Many visitors came and sales were lively. One innovation was the digital invi- tation system, which was very well received, although it still needs some getting used to. Our stand was in the same place as before, but with a slightly different layout. Instead of being rectangular, it was now square, so it had a different look, although in its design we used much the same elements as before. In addition to the tried and tested showcas- es and partitions, we added a remarkable administrative cabinet from Farnham Man- or in Northern Ireland dating from around 1780. This dark piece of furniture with its many small compartments formed a sur- prising contrast to the otherwise light and minimalist stand design. In it we displayed little treasures that visitors were delighted to discover. Some even wanted to buy the cabinet, but we will keep it and continue to use it at fairs in the future. Next year, we will also set up a comfortable corner where our clients can sit. The administrative cabinet from Farnham Manor in Northern Ireland from ca. 1780 with ancient artworks at TEFAF Maastricht 2023. English Edition The heartening and successful TEFAF Maastricht will be followed by other fairs this year. We will participate in The Treasure House Fair in London, which replaces Masterpiece (22-26 June 2023) and exhibit at two autumn fairs in Paris: Opus Ancient Arts (20-24 September 2023) was inaugurated last year and really impressed me. It is more like a salon than a fair and attracts all the good dealers in ancient art who offer works of very high quality. Furthermore, we will also participate in FAB PARIS (21-26 November 2023), which is the new combination of Fine Art Paris and Biennale. During Art Basel, as in previous years, we will present an exhi- bition in collaboration with the Parisian gallery Jocelyn Wolff at our premises on Steinentorstrasse in Basel (13-30 June 2023). This time, we will host a solo exhibi- tion by Portuguese artist Francis- co Tropa, whose works were pre- viously shown at our main gallery rooms in 2017 and 2019. Fran- cisco Tropa is one of the leading contemporary sculptors and his works have been displayed at the Musée d'art moderne, Paris, the Palais de To- kyo, Paris, and the Fundação Calouste Gul- benkian, Lisbon, among others. In 2011, he represented Portugal at the Venice Biennale. For our spaces, he will create a work spe- cifically incorporating works from Antiquity and exploring the theme of perception and illusion. The RM Enigma A solo show by FRANCISCO TROPA June 13 - 30, 2023 Cahn Kunstraum Steinentorstrasse 19, BaselCQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2023 2 Planning. Many have a say The renovation of a historic building is a complex process that requires thorough plan- ning, involves numerous parties and entails comprehensive structural considerations. Careful preparation and research are essential in order to reconcile heritage problems with the users' wishes and to set realistic goals. At the same time, this reduces the problems that tend to crop up later during implementation. For us as users it was clear that the interior of the Glyptothek should remain unchanged. We nevertheless wanted the outer shell to be restored to as much of its original splendour as possible, just as Klenze and Ludwig had envisaged it. It was clear to us that not every- one involved would embrace this plan whole- heartedly. In view of this, it was all the more important that Dr. Pfanner GmbH be award- ed the contract for planning the interventions on the building’s exterior. For Dr Pfanner, the Glyptothek is a sanctuary – just as it is for my deputy and me, and was for Ludwig and Klenze. We managed to find convincing solutions for all important questions. In the case of a pub- lic building that is also listed, the interests of numerous stakeholders must be taken into account. This began with the daughter of the architect Wiedemann, who had to have a say. The Glyptothek is Munich's oldest museum. From 1808 onwards, the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig collected sculptures from an- cient Egypt, Greece and Rome, as well as contemporary sculptures made in a style now termed neoclassical. To house his outstand- ing collection, a “Sculpture Hall of Fame" was built on the Königsplatz between 1816 and 1830 under the direction of the architect Leo von Klenze. Parts of the Glyptothek were severely dam- aged by air raids in 1943-1944. After the war, a multitude of reasons caused the renovation of the building to drag on for a protracted pe- riod. The collection director Dieter Ohly and architect Josef Wiedemann developed a con- cept that embraced major ideas propounded by Martin von Wagner, Ludwig’s main art agent, during the building’s construction period. Klenze's rich wall and floor decora- tions in the exhibition halls were removed, the exposed brickwork coated in lime slur- ry and the windows facing the inner court- yard considerably enlarged. The freestanding sculptures in the galleries have been illumi- nated by daylight most of the time ever since. After the Glyptothek was reopened in 1972, structural measures were limited to the bare essentials necessary for the building’s main- tenance. Extensive renovations were carried out be- tween October 2018 and March 2021. The original fabric of the building, which is some 200 years old, is rock solid. Thus, in the interior, only small cracks in the mason- ry had to be sealed, and the walls and ceil- ings were simply vacuumed. The façades, however, evinced damage due to age and environmental factors. Furthermore, serious deficiencies were found in the building ser- vices. The fire and burglar alarm systems, for instance, no longer complied with current requirements. Whilst preparing the building permit application together with the State Building Authority Munich 1, we also had to put much effort much into convincing pol- iticians of the proposed work. The Bavarian State Parliament finally approved funds to- talling 17 million euros. The fire protection authority had to give its approval; the State Criminal Police Office had to check the security aspects of the building; the concerns of people with disabilities had to be taken into account, and of course the Office for the Preservation of Historical Mon- uments also played an important role in the decision-making process. Together with the building authority, we developed an overall concept for the renovation. In addition to the experts in façade renova- tion, there were specialist planners for struc- tural engineering, electrical installations, heating-ventilation-sanitation, lighting, fire protection and gardening. An architect's of- fice was called in for the interior planning and the coordination of all contractors. Execution The building permit application defined three major goals: firstly, the renewal of the build- ing services, secondly, the creation of acces- sibility, and thirdly, the renovation of the façades. Before construction work could be- gin, a fundamental decision had to be made. What should we do with the sculptures? The standard procedure in such cases is to move the artworks to a safe place. However, as any transport brings risks with it, we decided to leave the ancient sculptures on site and to construct protective cases around them. This The Debate The Restoration of a Sanctuary The Glyptothek in Munich By Florian Knauss Fig. 1: Covered floors and enclosed sculptures in the Roman Hall. (Photo: St. Müller-Naumann)CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2023 3 Florian Knauss (born 1963) studied in Saarbrücken, Würzburg and Berlin (FU) (1984-1993). He was research assistant at the Institute for Near Eastern Archaeol- ogy at Saarland University (1993-1994), assistant at the Archaeological Seminar of the University of Münster (1994-2001), and curator at the State Collections of Antiquities and the Glyptothek in Munich (2001-2011). He has been the Glyptothek's direcor since 2011 and has been in charge of the excavations at Kara č amirli (Azer- baijan) since 2006. His main research in- terests are Greek vases, Achaemenid ar- chitecture, and cultural contacts between East and West. solution not only proved to be the right one from the perspective of conservation but also saved an enormous amount of time and money. The complete renewal of the electrical wir- ing was the core component of the renova- tion of the building services. In order not to damage the stone floors and the historic ex- posed brickwork, the cables were laid in the inner courtyard. The wall of each gallery was pierced for the cables to pass through, and in the rooms themselves they run along the joints and cornices. At the same time, the fire and burglar alarms were also renewed, and the convection heaters and control systems replaced. For reasons of safety as well as lighting, the windows had to be replaced. We succeeded in keeping the old iron frames and only had to exchange the glass panes and blinds. Both the galleries and the sculptures benefit from the new, even more transparent windows. Most of the art works are now back in their former place; some we have tried to display to greater advantage, but these minor changes are reversible. Not all wishes could be fulfilled. Some, for instance, were precluded by reasons of safe- ty or monument preservation. Nonetheless, we achieved significant improvements with regard to accessibility, sanitary facilities and visitor services. The redesigned foyer great- ly enhances the entrance area from both a functional and aesthetic point of view: The furnishings have been reduced to a circular satellite, which serves as shop, ticket office and security centre. The renovation followed the maxim “Klen- ze outside – Wiedemann inside". While there were hardly any changes visible to the visi- tor in the galleries, the masonry of the ex- terior was subjected to more far-reaching interventions. Their purpose was not only to slow down the building’s decay and to elim- inate hazards for staff and visitors, but also to restore important details to their original condition. We therefore began with damage mapping and extensive building research, both of which were carried out by Dr. Pfan- ner and his colleagues. The museum’s build- ing history could be reconstructed by study- ing the correspondence between Ludwig and Klenze and evaluating hundreds of pho- tographs. It became clear that the changes made to the outer shell of the Glyptothek at different times had not followed a plan and had not been consistently documented in the past; rather, they had merely obeyed necessi- ty or the spirit of the times. We have preserved the original substance as far as possible and left the traces of history visible. Cautious reconstructions of Klenze's architecture were only executed if they were secured by historical data and were particularly important for an under- standing of the building. Thus, the coloured rendering of the ashlars on the west, north and east sides, which had been painted monochrome grey during the Nazi era, was recreated. This not only restored the exterior walls to their former splendour, but also revealed that the ashlars carved into the plaster refer to the colour and struc- ture of the limestone blocks used on the south front. To save costs, Klenze had built large parts of the museum in brick instead of Untersberg “marble", which was already expensive at the time, and had concealed this change of material by means of the coloured rendering. Of even greater importance for the “classi- cists" Ludwig and Klenze was the rich ar- chitectural decoration of that section of the building that – with the Ionic columns on the south side and the figural decoration of the pediment – is reminiscent of a Greek temple. This reference to ancient models had been explicitly requested by the crown prince. Due to negligence, the antefixes made of limestone and bronze and the stone lion's heads that had decorated the roof of the museum had not been reinstalled after the Second World War and some figures from the pediment had been stolen. The shallow staircase at the southern main entrance had been replaced by a much deeper, non-classi- cal open staircase as early as 1900. This has now been removed so that the Glyptothek's classical exterior once again calls to mind its ancient models. The north side with its barrier-free access has been greatly enhanced by the restoration of the coloured rendering and the newly paved ramp. It was through this portico, which is plainer than the south front, that the king used to enter the building. By replacing the ivy and wild vines that covered the walls of the inner courtyard with red climbing roses, the beautiful structure of Klenze's architec- ture is shown to advantage again. Conclusion – What have we learnt? Today, all those involved in the building pro- ject, and also the vast majority of visitors, are highly satisfied with the result. Moreover, we succeeded in carrying out this complex and comprehensive restoration within the al- lotted time and budget – something that is not a matter of course nowadays. To achieve this, users need to know exactly what they want and to think about details early on, so as not to lose time and generate additional costs by planning changes after construc- tion work has begun. Furthermore, to stay on schedule it is important not to give in imme- diately when doubts are voiced regarding the deadlines. We followed Ludwig and Klenze’s lead not only with respect to the building’s design. Like the crown prince, we visited the building site every day, were present at every meeting, and – in the many personal conver- sations with planners and craftsmen – made it clear to all the individuals involved that their personal contribution was vital to the success of the project. Fig. 2: Restored architectural ornamentation. (Photo: M. Pfanner) Fig. 3: The Glyptothek after renovation. (Photo: St. Müller-Naumann)CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2023 4 was also required to man, fit out and main- tain the ship at his own cost. All in all, the crew of a trireme consisted of around 200 men – a large number in relation to the size of the ship. This meant that there was no room to sleep properly or cook on board, let alone to stow large quantities of sup- plies. The rowers could store a skin with water or wine and a minimum of food below their benches, but only under exceptional circum- stances did they eat on board. In the summer of 427 B.C., when the Athenians rescinded the order to execute the entire male population of the rebellious city of Mytilene, a trireme was “dispatched with all speed, lest the first one [bearing the order for the massacre], which had about a day and night’s start, should beat them to it". In order to achieve this, the oarsmen “ate their meals of barley mixed with oil and wine while carrying on rowing and they took turns at rowing and sleeping". (Thuc. III.49). Normally, however, the crew went ashore to eat and sleep, just as Aristophanes' horses did. Recipe from Antiquity Feeding the Athenian Fleet “We’re not so much amazed by what [our horses] have done on land as when they leapt manfully on board the horse transports – they all bought drinking cups and some also bought garlic and onions. They took their oars, just as we humans do, pulled hard, and snorted: ‘Yo-neigh-ho! Who’s going to row? Pull harder! What is going on? Get the ship moving, branded nag!’ At Corinth they jumped ashore. The younger ones dug out sleeping places with their hooves and went off to find some food. Instead of Median clo- ver, they ate the crabs if any crawled ashore, or even by fishing them up from the deep.” (Aristophanes, Knights, 598-610). In this section of his comedy Knights, Aristo- phanes is alluding to the battle of Solygeia. In the summer of 425 B.C., “the Athenians launched a campaign against Corinth with 80 ships, 2,000 of their hoplites and 200 cavalry on board horse-transports." After a long, in- decisive battle, it was the cavalry that tipped the scales in favour of the Athenians. (Thucy- dides, The War of the Peloponnesians and the Athenians, IV.42-45). The anthropomorphic horses in the play know exactly how to pre- pare for such an expedition: they purchase the necessary equipment and provisions be- fore setting out, and, having landed, they set up camp and look for food. Such mundane activities play a subordinate role in histori- ography, but in fact, the provisioning of the fleet was a critical factor that could deter- mine the outcome of a battle. The supply logistics of the Greek fleets was determined to a great extent by the ship forms that developed from the combat technique of ramming favoured in naval warfare during the Archaic and Classical periods. The Archaic triacont- er and penteconter both had a bronze- sheathed spur that protruded from the prow at the waterline with which to ram enemy vessels. As the prow was rein- forced to withstand the tremendous im- pact of collision, a ship was most likely to be sunk by a blow delivered to the side or stern. In a sea battle, the two fleets would usually form two long lines with prows facing each other, ready to dart forward when a weak point in the ene- my line became apparent. On occasion, risky manoeuvres might be tried to gain access to the enemy ships’ more vulner- able sides or stern. The periplus (sailing around) had ships from the longer line race around the enemy line to attack it from the rear, and the diekplus (breaking through) had a ship dash through the enemy line, wheel around and ram the opponent’s stern. Alterna- tively, the enemy ship could be hit obliquely, with the ram shearing off the oars. In these combat techniques, the speed, direc- tional stability and agility of the ships were of paramount importance. The best results were achieved with a long, slender shape with a length-to-width ratio of about 10:1. The tria- conter with 30 rowers measured about 23 m and the penteconter with 50 rowers about 38 m. Although the ships could also set sail for longer voyages, masts and sails were dis- mantled before battle. Thus, the most effec- tive way to increase the ship’s impact force was to increase the number of rowers. How- ever, to further lengthen the hull would have impaired the ship’s manoeuvrability. The tri- reme, which was developed in the Classical period, provided a brilliant solution to this dilemma. Equal in length to the penteconter and only slightly wider, the trireme nonethe- less had enough room for 170 oarsmen. They sat in three rows per side. The benches were located on different levels, but still so close together that the upper rowers could “fart on the rowers below them,” as Dionysos dispar- agingly remarks of the crew of the Athenian state trireme Paralos. (Arist., Frogs, 1074). A trireme also had a deck crew with 10 to 20 sailors including officers and about 10 sol- diers. It was commanded by a trierach, who A BRICK WITH ROMAN BATTLESHIP AND LEGION'S STAMP. L. 19.5 cm. Terracotta. Roman, after 69 A.D. CHF 6,000 By Yvonne Yiu Maza (after Thuk. III.49) In ancient Greece, roasted barley flour was kneaded with a liquid and shaped into cakes. Like Tibetan tsamba, these maza were not cooked or baked, as the roasting process already freed up the nutrients. In the opening scene of Aristophanes' comedy Peace, the making of such barley cakes is parodied by the two slaves who knead dung maza for Trygaios’s pet giant dung beetle. Knead together 60 g roasted barley meal, 12 ml red wine and 12 ml olive oil and shape into small cakes. Hesiod recommends eating maza made with goat’s milk during the dog days (Works and Days, 590) and according to the Byzantine doctor Paulus Aegineta (7th cent. A.D.) vinegar-water, honey-vinegar, or honey-water can also be used (Pragmateia, I.57).CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2023 5 The naval battle of Syracuse in the summer of 413 B.C. shows how intelligent provision- ing could lead to victory. On the third day, the commanders of the Syracusan fleet, which had so far made no headway against the enemy, decided to move the food market down from the city to the shore, so that the sailors “could immediately have their meal right there by the ships; and then shortly afterwards make an- other attack on the Athenians and take them by surprise”. Seeing the Syracusans suddenly row back to the city, the Athenians assumed this was an admission of defeat. “They there- fore took their time disembarking and busied themselves with having their meal and vari- ous other things, sure in the belief that there would be no more fighting at sea this day.” Spartan Meal on Sphacteria (Thuc. IV.26) Apanthrakis, a thin bread “baked over charcoal, like the ash-bread of the Atheni- ans” (Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, 3.110b) is suitable for preparation in field condi- tions and goes well with cheese and wine. Knead together 300 g flour with 200 ml water, shape into a flat cake, cover with hot ashes, heap embers over the ashes and bake for about 30 minutes. Galen's scath- ing remark that such breads are burnt out- side and underdone inside, have an un- pleasant taste, and are the worst loaves of all ( On the Powers of Foods, 1.490) is not entirely true, since the ash insulates the bread from the intense heat of the embers, thereby enabling the loaves to bake even- ly. Alternatively, boil the "ground grain" in water until soft and flavour with hon- ey, poppy-seed and linseed. This creates a dessert similar to apothermum (Apicius, De Re Coquinaria 2.2.10). Remarkably, food procurement was not cen- trally organized. Rather, each man received his salary, usually one drachma per day (Thuc. VI.8, VII.29), with which he also had to buy his food. For their meals, the fleet moored near a larger settlement so that the men could do their shopping on the agora and indeed, in most cas- es there seem to have been enough provisions to feed the sudden influx of thousands of hun- gry sailors. As the fleet was utterly dependent on locally available food supplies, the situa- tion could be exploited. In the Oikonomika of Pseudo-Aristotle, a treatise on how to increase state revenues, the author relates that the city fathers of Lampsacus, having received news of the arrival of a large fleet of triremes, ordered the vendors to sell a medimnus of barley flour for six drachmas instead of the usual four, and a chous of oil for four and a half drachmas instead of three. The sellers received the nor- mal price, whilst the surcharge flowed into the government coffers (II.1347). Even on the rare occasions when grain freighters sailed with the fleet, it was essential to procure additional food and, of course, water. When, in the sum- mer of 415 B.C., the Athenians and their allies set out to subdue Syracuse, the 134 triremes were accompanied by “thirty grain-transports […] also carrying bakers". Nonetheless, the fleet stopped at various Italic cities hoping to replenish their provisions. To their surprise, however, they were not welcome: “Some cit- ies were unwilling to give them access to their markets or towns but did offer them water and anchorage, though Tarentum and Locri did not even offer them that.” (Thuc. VI.43). The most important foodstuffs in ancient Greece, and hence for the Greek fleets, were grain, olive oil and wine. Olives, onions and garlic were also part of the basic diet. These are mentioned both in comedies (Arist., Knights, 600, Acharnians, 543-554) and in serious his- toriography. Xenophon, for example, recounts that when Coeratadas was chosen as general, he wished to inaugurate his new position with a sacrifice, and also brought food and drink for distribution among the soldiers: “There followed him twenty men loaded with bar- ley-meal, another twenty with wine, three with olives, another man with as big a load of garlic as he could carry, and another with onions.” (Anabasis, VII.1.37). The men probably also bought cheese, legumes and vegetables on the agora, and maybe as a rare treat meat or fish. In his description of the siege of Sphacteria in the summer of 425 B.C., Thucydides provides us with a snapshot of the food available to the Athenian navy and the Spartan hoplites. Having established a naval blockade around the island of Sphacteria that was occupied by the Spartans, the Athenians expected “to force a surrender in a couple of days”. As the siege dragged on, they began suffering from “a shortage of food and water". Furthermore, Startled by the Syracusans’ renewed attack, “the Athenians – very confused and most of them unfed – got back into the ships in great disorder.” Although the Athenians fought val- iantly, “the Syracusans eventually emerged victorious". (Thuc. VII.39-41). In the follow- ing weeks almost the entire expedition was captured or destroyed. With this devastating loss, Athens passed the zenith of its power. Al- though the Peloponnesian War dragged on for another nine years, Athens' final defeat was inevitable. The once so mighty polis was dealt its death- blow by a mistake in the provisioning of its navy. In 405 B.C. the Athenians drew together their entire fleet at the Hellespont in order to safeguard the grain imports from the Pontus that were indispensable to the city's survival. Following the Spartans' conquest of the city of Lampsacus, they moved their 180 ships to Aigospotamoi. “Alcibiades, who [saw] that the Athenians were moored on an open shore, with no city near by, and were fetching their provisions from Sestus, a distance of fifteen stadia from their ships, while the enemy, being in a harbour and near a city, had everything needful, told the Athenians that they were not moored in a good place, and advised them to shift their anchorage to Sestus.” The generals did not, however, heed his advice. On four consecutive days, “the Athenians formed their ships in line for battle at the mouth of the har- bour” of Lampsacus, but the Spartans refused to answer the challenge. “When it grew late in the day”, the Athenians returned to their base, followed unnoticed by Spartan scouts who observered their routine. On the fifth day, however, wenn the Athenians went ashore to eat “and had scattered up and down the Cher- sonese”, something they did “far more freely every day, […] because they bought their pro- visions at a distance”, the Spartans attacked from both sea and land. The Athenians did their utmost to defend themselves, but as most of the crew was away shopping for food, the ships could only be partially manned or not at all. Only nine triremes, including the Paralos, managed to escape; the rest of the fleet was captured and their crew taken prisoner. (Xen- ophon, Hellenika, II.1.21-28). “It was at night that the Paralos arrived at Ath- ens with tidings of the disaster, and a sound of wailing ran from Piraeus through the long walls to the city, one man passing on the news to another.” Athens was besieged by land and sea, and after several months the starving city was forced to accept the Spartans' terms for peace. “After this [the Spartan general] Ly- sander sailed into Piraeus, the exiles returned, and the Peloponnesians with great enthusiasm began to tear down the walls to the music of flute-girls, thinking that that day was the be- ginning of freedom for Greece.” (Xen., Hell., II.2.3-23). they had “cramped and restricted conditions in which to camp, and since the ships had no anchorage crews would take turns to have their meals on land while the rest moored out to sea". The Spartans, on the other hand, “had called for volunteers to convey on to the island supplies of ground grain, wine, cheese and any other foodstuff that might be useful in a siege; they offered a lot of money for this. […] Many took the risk […] sailing by night to the side of the island facing the sea. […] There were also divers at the harbour who swam out underwater, towing after them on a cord skins filled with poppy-seed mixed with honey and ground linseed.” (Thuc. IV.26).CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2023 6 Social Status and Social Prestige in Antiquity A DISCOPHOROS. H. 8.4 cm. Bronze (solid cast). Formerly priv. coll. R. G., Germany. Etruscan, 1st half of 5th cent. B.C. CHF 6,800 A RECUMBANT SYMPOSIAST. D. 6.1 cm. Bronze. Formerly Coll. Jean-Marie Talleux, Grand Fort Philippe, France. Thereafter, MuM AG, Basel, July 1953; Coll. Franz Trau, Vienna, before 1955. Etruscan, ca. 480 B.C. CHF 14,500 A RED-FIGURE LEKYTHOS WITH A YOUTH AT ALTAR (ATTRIBUTED TO THE BOWDOIN PAINTER). H. 25 cm. Clay. Formerly priv. coll. R. U., Basel; acquired from Münzen und Medaillen AG, Basel, KAM 1983, cat. no. 103. Greek, Attic, ca. 460 B.C. CHF 9,600 A SMALL HEAD OF A WOMAN. H. 5.5 cm. Terracotta. Venus rings on the neck. From a Tanagra statuette. Formerly priv. coll. Belgi- um, from the 1990s. Greek or Western Greek, 4th-2nd cent. B.C. CHF 2,000 A RED-FIGURE LEKYTHOS WITH SEATED WOMAN. H. 28.6 cm. Clay. Formerly priv. coll. R. M., Zurich, acquired March 1971 from Galerie Arete, Zurich. Greek, Attic, ca. 470-460 B.C. CHF 14,800 A STATUETTE OF A WREATHED YOUNG WOMAN. H. 17.6 cm. Clay. Abundant traces of polychromy in the folds of the robe and on the base. Formerly Belgian art market. Greek, 3th cent. B.C. CHF 1,400 A RED-FIGURE LEKYTHOS, ATTRIBUTED TO THE BOWDOIN PAINT- ER. H. 26.5 cm. Clay. Formerly from the estate (1995-1997) of coll. B. G., Munich. Attic, ca. 480-470 B.C. CHF 14,800 New Artworks Monthly on www.cahn.chCQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2023 7 AN INTAGLIO WITH WOMAN'S BUST. H. 1.3 cm. Carnelian. Formerly priv. coll. Kop- penwallner, since the 1970s, Cologne, Ger- many. Roman, 2nd cent. A.D. CHF 3,800 A PAIR OF GOLD EARRINGS WITH GARNETS AND EMERALDS. L. 3.6 cm. Gold, emerald, garnet. Formerly priv. coll. Monsieur L., July 1982. Roman, 1st-2nd cent. A.D. CHF 2,800 AN INTAGLIO WITH HUNTSMAN. H. 1.7 cm. Carnelian. Formerly priv. coll. K., Swit- zerland, built up since the 1960s. Thence by descent. Roman, 1st cent. A.D. CHF 9,800 A PAIR OF GOLD EARRINGS. H. 3 cm. Gold, garnet, glass. Formerly priv. coll. Monsieur L., July 1982. Roman, 2nd-3rd cent. A.D. CHF 2,400 A SILVER SPOON WITH PANTHER'S HEAD. L. 15.5 cm. Silver. Formerly Coll. Sch.-Lens- ing (inv. no. 238), 1970s-1990s. Roman, 3rd cent. A.D. CHF 800 A KNEELING SLAVE. H. 9.5 cm. Terracotta. Roucher, E., Paris; Coll. De Maultpy, Paris. Egypt, Ptolemaic, 3rd cent. B.C.-1st cent. A.D. CHF 2,600 A LID IN THE FORM OF A THEATRE MASK. H. 5.7 cm. Bronze. Formerly Coll. Prof. Hans Dahn (1919-2019), Lausanne. Roman, 1st- 2nd cent. A.D. CHF 1,600 A HEAD OF A WOMAN WITH ELABORATE COIFFURE. H. 4.7 cm. Reddish clay. Formerly priv. coll. J. Mazard, New York, 1975-2016. Roman Egypt, 3rd cent. A.D. CHF 1,800 A PAIR OF GOLD EARRINGS WITH CAR- NELIAN. L. 3.6 cm. Gold, carnelian. Curved hoop made of gold wire adorned by a round shield. Above the shield an eyelet into which the other end of the hoop is hooked. At the lower end of the shield a gold bead. Pendant composed of a wire with a biconical car- nelian bead and an eyelet at the upper end. With Coins and Antiquities Ltd., undated catalogue (between 1975 and 1978), no. 60, AN 821. Thereafter priv. coll. Roman, 2nd cent. A.D. CHF 2,400 A FRAGMENT WITH A PTOLEMAIC RULER. H. 7.3 cm. Faience. Formerly priv. coll. Guy Weill-Goudchaux, Germany. Ptolemaic, 3rd- 2nd cent. B.C. CHF 5,800 A BRONZE BUST OF A PTOLEMAIC QUEEN WITH ELEPHANT SCALP. H. 5.1 cm. Bronze. Interpreted as Cleopatra Selene (daughter of Cleopatra VII and Marc Antony). Formerly Coll. Lisa Knothe, Jerusalem. Egypt, Ptole- maic, 3rd-1st cent. B.C. CHF 2,000 A PAIR OF GOLD BRACELETS WITH SNAKE'S HEADS. Inner Dm. max. 5.3 cm and 5.5 cm. H. 6.0 cm and 6.2 cm. Gold. Formerly Collection Carl Leonhard Burckhardt (1902-1965). Thence by descent. Greek, Mediterranean region, 3rd-1st cent. B.C. CHF 8,800CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2023 8 Discovered for you Uncertain Times and a Ray of Hope The Transition from the Dark Ages to the Early Iron Age Kingdom and, at the turn of the 12th to the 11th century B.C., the division of the coun- try into two parts. In the Levant, the end of Egyptian and Hittite occupation gave rise to new structures as destroyed sites were part- ly resettled, for example by one of the Sea Peoples, the Peleset/Philistines, who shared Canaan with the Phoenicians and Israelites. Ugarit, on the other hand, remained deserted for 650 years and Hattusa, the Hittite capital, was completely abandoned. In Cyprus, mean- while, Enkomi and Sinda remained inhabited until the end of the century. The Mycenaean culture lasted another 150 years; this is the so-called Post-Palatial Pe- riod. Mycenae's palace complex, which had not been completely destroyed, and the Low- er Citadel of Tiryns continued to be inhabited albeit on a smaller scale. In contrast, the pal- aces of Pylos, Thebes and Orchomenos were not reinhabited. Well-developed infrastruc- ture fell into disrepair. Settlements were for- tified or moved to safer elevations. The popu- lation declined. Many people, especially from the areas around the former palaces, went in search of better living conditions. Due to a distinct change in the style of the pottery, the Post-Palatial Period can be divid- ed into Late Helladic III C (1190/80-1050 B.C.) characterized by diverse ornaments, stripes, and also figural motifs, and the Sub-Myce- naean phase (1050/30-1000 B.C.) which fea- tures fleetingly painted stripes and geometric ornaments that are later also found on Pro- to-Geometric vases. The small, squat jug on a low ring foot currently with the Cahn Gallery dates from the final phase of Late Mycenaean pottery (fig. 2). The potter created the shim- mering brown tones of the striped decoration by varying the dilution of the clay slip. In- dividual chevrons with ladder pattern deco- rate the shoulder. The narrow mouth made it easy to dispense the perfume oil probably contained in the jug. Small, self-sufficient settlements centred on a fort outside the former palace territories showed remarkable resilience and survived the uncertain times. In some places, necropo- lises even attest to an increase in population in the 11th century B.C. Teichos Dymaion in the northwest of the Peloponnese, whose Late The dawn of a period of social and political instability is dramatically illustrated by the marked decline in material finds and their poorer quality. The collapse of the central palace economies resulted in the loss of the Linear B and cuneiform scripts they used; widespread illiteracy was the consequence. Diplomatic relations broke down. Long-dis- tance trade and technological exchange de- clined. Ancient historians have long referred to the period from 1200-750 B.C. as the “dark" centuries. In the meantime, more re- cent excavation finds have limited the “dark" period to approximately 1050-800 B.C. The overall scarcity of finds, however, especially in the 11th to early 10th centuries B.C., means that much needs to be reconstructed or re- mains in the realm of speculation. But how did the once highly developed cul- tures and regions fare? In Egypt, internal conflicts resulting from the cultural and economic collapse led to the end of the New Helladic cyclopean wall is still preserved, was a local princely seat that continued trading with its Italic contacts and, despite renewed destruction (mid-11th century B.C.), re- mained continuously inhabited until the Iron Age. Destruction dating from the end of the Post-Palatial Period was probably due to re- gional conflicts, and will have further inten- sified the phenomena of retreat, decline and insecurity. If there was ever a "dark" period, then this is it, although these developments occurred earlier in some places and later in others. Lefkandi on the south-west coast of Euboia reached the turning point exceptionally early. Following its abandonment, the settlement was reinhabited as early as Sub-Mycenae- an times and experienced a remarkable in- crease in prosperity around 1000 B.C. Rich Proto-Geometric finds in the Toumba necro- polis attest to this, among them elaborately designed gold jewellery, stamp seals, glass beads, vessels and necklaces made of faience, Attic as well as high-quality local pottery and bronze tools. An outstanding find is the famous clay statuette of a centaur (fig. 1). It marks the transition from the Mycenaean to the Geometric Period. Many grave goods came from Cyprus, the Orient and Egypt, sig- nalling a revival of maritime trade. The architecture and dimensions of the he- roon in the west of the necropolis, an elon- Fig.1: THE CENTAUR OF LEFKANDI. Clay. Proto-Geo- metric, 925–872 B.C., Archaeological Museum Eretria, ME 8620. © Photo: GJCL Classical Art History (site visited 30.04.2023) Fig. 2: A JUG WITH BANDED DECORATION. H. 12 cm. Clay. Late Mycenaean, 12th cent. B.C. CHF 1,600 By Gerburg LudwigCQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2023 9 Highlight By Detlev Kreikenbom A Portrait of a Man No period of Antiquity produced such a pro- fusion of portraits both official and private as did the reign of the Antonine emperors (138- 198 A.D.). In their style and choice of motifs, private portraits took the imperial portraits as their model, albeit some to a greater and oth- ers to a lesser degree. This form of emulation, which had already been practiced in earlier times, is also evident in the head currently with the Cahn Gallery that will be examined in this essay. This head stands out amongst the mass of Antonine private portraits due to a number of distinctive and idiosyncratic features (fig. 1a-b). It seems that not just one, but two mem- bers of the imperial household were of ei- ther direct or indirect relevance to the per- son portrayed. The ample lower part of the face with its spherically curved, embedded cheekbones and softly recessed nasolabi- al folds is so strongly reminiscent of rep- resentations of Emperor Hadrian (died 138 A.D.), despite the beardless chin, that the similarity cannot be purely coincidental. Hadrian’s portrait type Chiaramonti 392 is particularly close. The cautious indication of the pupils is also compatible with the Hadrianic Period. The voluminous coiffure, however, is unthinkable without the “crown prince” Marcus Aurelius. Both his first por- trait type that probably began circulating in 138 A.D. and his second portrait type that was created around 140 A.D. may have provided conceptual starting points (figs. 2 and 3). Fig. 3: A FINIAL IN THE FORM OF A STYLIZED HEAD OF A MAN. H. 6.4 cm. Bronze. Greek, Geometric, mid- 8th cent. B.C. CHF 7,800 gated mud-brick building (45 x 10 m, 2nd half of the 10th century B.C.) with an apse and peristasis, already point in the direction of the large temples. The interior housed an elaborate double burial. A Cypriot bronze urn with figural reliefs contained the ashes of a man and the remnants of the cloth in which they were wrapped. Next to the urn lay the inhumed the body of a woman that was ac- companied by lavish, in part oriental grave goods: jewellery made of gold, bronze, iron and faience, garment pins of bronze and iron, an iron knife with ivory handle. Next to the urn a spearhead, an iron sword and a whet- stone were found, and close by there were traces of fire and charcoal. A second grave contained the skeletons of four sacrificed horses, probably those that had drawn the hearse. The heroon was torn down after the burial and a tumulus was heaped up above it. The deceased belonged to the upper class, and the man was probably the local leader, the “Prince of Lefkandi". The burial ritual shows astonishing parallels to those in Hom- er's Iliad, especially that for the dead Patro- clus (Homer, Iliad 23, 1-256). The finial in the form of a stylised male head currently with the Cahn Gallery (fig. 3) is an example of the prestigious items of jewellery worn by the ruling elite. Considering its size, it must have adorned a rather large garment pin that served to fasten lengths of fabric at the chest or shoulder. Stylistic parallels to the bronze group with a man and centaur in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, inv. no. 17.190.2072, suggest that the pin dates from as late as the High Geometric Period. The extraordinarily diverse finds from Lefkandi make it a reference point for the upswing experienced in Greece at the tran- sition to the Early Iron Age. The progress of the multifaceted developments that led to the Geometric Period in Greece will be examined in more detail in the next issue. Fig. 1 a–b. A PORTRAIT OF A MAN. H. 42 cm. Marble. Roman, early Antonine, ca. 140-150 A.D. Basel, Cahn Gallery. Price on request Fig. 2. A PORTRAIT OF MARCUS AURELIUS, first type. Modena, Galleria Estense. Photo: K. Fittschen, Prinzenbild- nisse antoninischer Zeit, Mainz 1989, pl. 5a.CQ Cahn’s Quarterly 1/2023 10 It is remarkably difficult to estimate the age of the person portrayed, as the various facial features do not paint a uniform picture. The curly sideburns, short mustache and hint of a soul patch could be interpreted as indic- ative of youth or adolescence, especially as the chin is beardless. The fifteen-year-old Emperor Elagabal (218-222 A.D.) was pre- sented to the public in portraits with these traits a year after his accession to power. Marcus Aurelius was already over twenty years old when he was depicted in a sim- ilar manner on coins and sculptures. Only a few fine hairs were shown to sprout from his chin and the youthful skin of his face was smooth and taut. By contrast, in the case of our head, the cheeks, eyes and es- pecially the nasolabial folds leave no doubt about the adult age of the person portrayed, which is why we would have expected him to wear a full beard. The conventions of Ro- man portraiture precluded a clean-shaven chin tip. A further youthful feature is the long neck with slightly protruding muscles that al- most lacks a jugular notch. Originally, the head was turned to left and inserted in a bust or statue. The neck would have been strikingly framed by the hem of a cloak, toga or paludamentum. The scarf-like dra- pery extended high up the back of the neck but did not in the least obscure the behold- er's view. The neck serves as a stable support for the wide face above it, which in turn is sur- mounted by the broad, voluminous mass of hair. Thus, the sequence of body parts can be read as a “static” correspondence, and, at the same time, as a succession of volumes. The coiffure forms a coherent mass and, as such, departs from the model provided by the youthful types of Marcus Aurelius. Individual strands can be made out at the edges, if at all. Apart from these, the head is covered by a multitude of boss-shaped and helical curls that merge together. The tendency towards a reduction of form and a preference for compact hair motifs can be observed in Antonine portraits created in very different parts of the Roman Empire, including the mother country. This trend, which is particularly evident in the eastern Mediterranean, from Greece to Cyrenaica, is exemplified by the following male private portrait from Syria (fig. 4 a-b). The closed, additive structure of the curls at the top and back of the head resembles that of the portrait in the Cahn Gallery. Howev- er, the similarity is restricted to these parts of the head. At the front, the relationship between the hair and the face is complete- ly different. In the Syrian private portrait, a projecting arch of curls frames the fore- head. In a simplified way, the curls repeat the playful, relaxed motifs found in the portraits of Marcus Aurelius, which empha- size the contrasts of light and dark. They are strung together and over one another as if it were a matter of course, seemingly without any compositional commitment to the face. In the portrait with the Cahn Gallery, the wreath of curly hair is present too, but Imprint Publisher Jean-David Cahn Malzgasse 23 CH-4052 Basel www.cahn.ch ISSN 2624-6368 Editors Jean-David Cahn Yvonne Yiu Authors Jean-David Cahn Ulrike Haase Florian Knauss Detlev Kreikenbom Gerburg Ludwig Yvonne Yiu Photos Niklaus Bürgin Ulrike Haase Design and Layout Michael Joos Yvonne Yiu Highlight Fig. 3. A PORTRAIT OF MARCUS AURELIUS, second type. Rome, Museo del Foro Romano. Photo: K. Fittschen, Prinzenbildnisse antoninischer Zeit, Mainz 1989, pl. 32a. Fig. 4 a–b. A PORTRAIT OF A MAN modelled on that of Marcus Aurelius, third type. From Syria. Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum. Photo: M. Kocak – D. Kreikenbom, Sculptures from the Roman Syria II. Greek, Roman and Byzantine marble statuary, Berlin 2023, pl. 3 A and D. the quotation is minimised to such a de- gree that it remains almost imperceptible. The compact mass of hair is cut off in a linear manner at the temples, as if it were constricted here, and frames the forehead in an almost trapezoidal shape, although it curves downwards in the centre. This makes for an attractive interplay between the fine- ly smoothed skin of the forehead and the blunt structure of the hair, contrasting calm surfaces with small, lively movements. The question that inevitably arises, that is, the extent to which the portrait reflects the real appearance of the person represented, cannot be answered. The only thing that is clear is that the fashionable hairstyle mod- elled on the coiffure of the youthful Mar- cus Aurelius was subjected to a fundamen- tal transformation in line with regional or personal ideas. It is quite probable that the portrait was made in the eastern part of the Roman Empire.Next >