• Pre-Columbian, South Coast of Peru, Nazca, ca. 22- BCE - 125 CE.Polychrome vessel of organic, phytomorphic form and thin walls finely painted with six slithering serpents and protruding floral motifs in hues of red, orange, cream, black, grey, and white.

    Chips of base and rim. Pressure fissures on and a bit above the base. Surface wear commensurate with age.

    Size: Diameter: 19 cm; Height: 16 cm; Mouth diameter: 8.5 cm.

     
  • Title: Illustrated Catalogues of Tokyo National Museum: Ukiyo-e Prints [東京国立博物館図版目録 | 浮世絵版画編] (Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan zuhan mokuroku | Ukiyoe hanga hen); Publisher: Tokyo National Museum [東京国立博物館] (Tōkyō Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan). Three volumes, 26.3 x 18.7 cm, uniformly bound in black cloth with white characters to front cover and spine. Title-page: ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUES OF | TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM | UKIYO-E PRINTS | <1 (2, 3) > | 東京国立博物館図版目録 | 浮世絵版画編 | < 上 (中, 下) > || Volume 1 [上]:  unpaginated 1 t.p., 2 colour plates, 1 contents, 70 (1-1354) – b/w plates, 1 + 48 paginated leaves (1-95 [96]) – text. Volume 2 [中]: unpaginated 1 t.p., 2 colour plates, 1 contents, 67 (1355-2493) – b/w plates + 33 paginated leaves (1-65 [66]) – text. Volume 3 [下]: unpaginated 1 t.p., 2 colour plates, 1 contents, 83 (2494-3926) – b/w plates + 35 paginated leaves (1-69 [70]) – text. Black and white photomechanical reproduction of almost four thousand woodblock prints with titles by the artist and in chronological order.
  • A very large and very thin iron tsuba of round form decorated with design of formalized butterfly and dragonfly in openwork (sukashi). The characteristics of the plate resemble those of Kamakura period ko-tōshō tsuba. However, the design seems too 'modern' to me, but it's hard to tell; it may be a late Muromachi or Momoyama period work. Tōshō or Ko-Tōshō school (or a Katchushi). Muromachi period. However, Boris Markhasin and Skip Holbrook insist this is a 20th-century machine-made tsuba. Dimensions: 99.6 x 100.5 x 2.1 mm. This is what Jim Gilbert says about old tsuba:
    "Traditionally the old iron plate tsuba are classified into Ko Tosho (old sword smith), and Ko Katchushi (old armor maker) styles. It is sometimes difficult to justify attribution of a given tsuba to the Tosho or Katchushi category. Generally guards with raised rims or relatively complex designs tend to be assigned to Katchushi. This is basically a convention we follow out of habit and convenience." [...] "In Token Kai-Shi part six, Articles by Akiyama Kyusaku, Robert Haynes comments: "…from 1300 to 1400 over 150,000 MOUNTED swords were made in Japan for export alone. This means that over four tsuba a day were made for 100 years. This would mean that at least 3000 persons were making nothing but tsuba, let alone all the other fittings needed to complete these swords. With sword smiths, fittings makers and all the other artists need to complete a sword for export, at least 10,000 sword artists were working together, in any one of these hundred years."
    Another tsuba of similar design, Tōshō school, is illustrated in this collection; see TSU-0319.2015. Reference to this design can be found in LIB-1359.2017 Japanese Swords and Tsuba from the Professor A. Z. Freeman and the Phyllis Sharpe Memorial collections, Sotheby's, London, Thursday 10 April 1997; p. 18-19, lot № 37: "A Kamakura-bori Tsuba, Momoyama Period. ...pierced with two large formalised butterflies..."

    A Kamakura-bori tsuba of octagonal form, Momoyama period.

     
  • Iron tsuba of round form with brown patina decorated with the design of a Buddhist temple bell (tsurigane) in openwork (sukashi), with details outlined in brass wire (sen-zōgan), the outer ring  decorated with two rows of brass dots (ten-zōgan), and the bell details carved in sukidashi-bori as on kamakura-bori pieces.

    Ōnin school. Unsigned. Late Muromachi period, 16th century. Dimensions: 88.8 x 88.3 x 3.0 mm. As per Merrily Baird, two legends are usually associated with the image of tsurigane, a large, suspended Buddhist bell: one is that of Dojo Temple (Dojo-ji), and the other is of Benkei stealing the tsurigane of Miidera Temple. Interestingly, this type of bell (tsurigane) is not described as a family crest (mon), while suzu and hansho bells are.  
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Block cutter: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863), seal Hori Take [彫竹]. Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847). Title: Book of an incoming ship [入船帳] (Irifune-chō). Series: Comparison of Eight Books of Proficiency and Eloquence [口も手も美立八帳] (Kuchimo temo mitate hatchō). Date seal and aratame censor seal: 1856 (Ansei 3). Signed: Toyokuni ga in toshidama cartouche. Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 231 x 300 mm. Provenance: The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christie's, New York, 2017, lot 341; sold together with 5 other fan prints for $25,000. Before: Israel Goldman, Japanese Prints, Catalogue 11, 2005, no. 37. Ref: [LIB-1693.2018] The Collection of Paul Walter. — NY: Christie's, 2017, p. 363. Ref: Israel Goldman, Catalogue 2018, № 51: "Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) A Beauty Seated in a Boat. From the series Mitate hatcho (A Parody of Eight Books). 1856. Fan print. 23.3 x 30 cm. Provenance: Israel Goldman, Japanese Prints, Catalogue 11, 2005, no. 37, The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christie's, New York, 2017, lot 341. Fine impression, colour and condition. The title contains the saying: “Kuchi mo hatcho te mo hatcho (As quick with one’s hand as one’s tongue)." Special thanks to Horst Graebner for the detailed description.
  • Kanmuri - a classic court cap, made of lacquered wood and paper. It is traditionally made by creating a skeleton, or harinuki, of paper on a wooden form. The outside of the hari-nuki is lacquered so as to keep its shape, and then the body of ra silk is layed on top. The entire thing is lacquered stiff.

    Size: Height:20cm; Width: 21cm; Depth: 20cm.

    Probably Taishō period (1912-1926), or later. Certain information is provided at http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/garb/garb.html In a wooden box without inscriptions.
  • Small iron tsuba (tantō size) of oval form carved with imitation of six overlapping plates, decorated with paulownia blossoms, leaves, and tendrils in brass and copper hira-zōgan. Copper sekigane. Open kozuka hitsu-ana.

    Early Edo period, 17th century.

    Size: 50.5 x 34.0 x 4.9 mm.

  • Hardcover, 22.2 x 14.6 cm, quarter black cloth, pictorial boards, lettering to spine; pp.: [2] 3-253 [3], collated 8vo: 1-168, total 128 leaves plus portrait frontispiece. Title-page: Дж. Д. СЭЛИНДЖЕР | ПОВЕСТИ | НАД ПРОПАСТЬЮ | ВО РЖИ | ВЫШЕ СТРОПИЛА, | ПЛОТНИКИ | РАССКАЗЫ | ХОРОШО ЛОВИТСЯ | РЫБКА-БАНАНКА | ЧЕЛОВЕК, КОТОРЫЙ | СМЕЯЛСЯ | ГОЛУБОЙ ПЕРИОД | ДЕ ДОМЬЕ-СМИТА | ЛАПА-РАСТЯПА | ПЕРЕВОД С АНГЛИЙСКОГО | И ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ | Р. РАЙТ-КОВАЛЕВОЙ | ИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО ЦК ВЛКСМ | «МОЛОДАЯ ГВАРДИЯ», 1965 || T.p. verso: […] J. D. Salinger | The Catcher in the Rye | Raise high the Roof Beam, Carpenters | A Perfect Day for Bananafish | The Laughing Man | De Daumier — Smith’s Blue Period | Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut | Художник Б. Жутовский | (В оформлении использован фрагмент картины | американского художника Э. Уайеса) || Print run: 115,000 copies. Contributors: [Джером Дэвид Сэлинджер] Jerome David Salinger (American, 1919 – 2010) Райт-Ковалёва, Рита [Черномордик, Раиса Яковлевна] (Russian, 1898 – 1988) Жутовский, Борис Иосифович (Russian, 1932 – 2023) «Э. Уайес» – [Эндрю Уайет] Andrew Wyeth (American, 1917 – 2009)  
  • Iron tsuba of round form decorated with design of moon, stars, cloud, snowflake, gorintō, and Genji-mon in negative openwork (in-sukashi). Raised tubular rim (dote-mimi). Deep black patina, traces of lacquer. Naka-daka type of plate (thicker in center, getting thiner towards the rim). Visible gap between the rim and the plate. Dimensions: Height: 91.7 mm; Width: 90.8 mm; Thickness at seppa-dai: 2.5 mm, plate before rim: 2.2 mm, of the rim: 5.6 mm. At least Mid Muromachi period, 15th century, but possibly earlier. In 'Silver Book', commenting tsuba №34 Sasano writes: "The technique used to create the rim is the same used for the peak (koshimaki) of helmets (kabuto) during the Kamakura and Nanbokucho periods." On the other hand, the abundance of sukashi elements points towards later times, perhaps late Muromachi or even Momoyama period. "Gorintō is a grave stone composed of five pieces, piled on one the other, representing, from the bottom upward, earth, water, fire, wind, and heaven, respectively" [Nihon Tō Kōza, Volume VI, Part 1.  AFU, 1993, p. 6. / LIB-1554]. A romantic description of the piece may look like this: The air is scented (incense symbol); it's a graveyard, marked by gorintō; a winter (snowflake) evening or night (moon, stars); mist is rising from a ravine towards moon. I did not manage to find a katchūshi piece of this design, only a few Kamakura-bori tsuba:

    100 selected tsuba from European collections. Catalogue by Robert Haynes and Robert Burawoy, 1984, page 16, №5.

     

    Japanese Sword Fittings. Collection of G.H. Naunton, Esq., by Henri L. Joly, - 1912; №9.

    While the upper tsuba is dated the end of Muromachi, the lower is attributed to the 17th century - Momoyama or early Edo period, though the author put this attribution under question. Deciphering of the strangely shaped opening to the left of nakago-ana is sometimes "a conventional scroll", and sometimes - a fern or bracken. I think mine is a cloud or mist, but I don't have any material evidence to prove this understanding, and I came to a conclusion based only on context. It may easily be dinosaurs playing ball. The fact that this thing always accompanies the Genji-mon, or incense symbol, it may be a scent itself.
  • Iron tsuba of round form decorated with eight roundels – circular emblems of flowers and/or family crests (mon) made of cast brass, pierced and chiseled in kebori, and with flat brass inlay (hira-zōgan) of vines or leaves all over the plate. Both hitsu-ana could have been trimmed with brass now lacking. Nakago-ana of triangular form, possibly enlarged, with copper sekigane. All typical emblems with bellflower, two variations on suhama theme, and 3, 4, 5, and 6-poinitng mon variations. A distinctive character of this tsuba is a mon at 12 hours depicting water plantain (omodaka).

    “Omodaka was also called shōgunsō (victorious army grass); because of this martial connotation, it was a design favored for the crests of samurai families” [Family crests of Japan, Stone Bridge Press, Berkeley, California]. Yoshirō school (Kaga-Yoshirō). The Momoyama or early Edo period, beginning of 17th century. Size: Height: 81.4 mm; width: 81.2; thickness 3.8 mm at seppa-dai.
  • Japanese book: 24 leaves, 22 numbered plates, b/w photography reproduced photomechanically, with descriptions at the facing pages; in Japanese. Hardcover, 19 x 18.5 cm, green cloth stamped with title to front board and spine. Separate translation into English.
  • Iron tsuba of half round and half lobed (chrysanthemoid) form decorated with plants and family crests (mon) in cast brass inlay (suemon-zōgan), and scattered brass dots inlay (ten-zōgan); brass wire inlay outlining the rim, seppa-dai, and hitsu-ana (scalloped wire) on both sides. Surface treated with hummer punch marks. The chrysanthemoid half of the plate chiseled  with thin shallow grooves, outlining the petals. Copper sekigane. On the face the inlay represents: mandarin orange (tachibana), half karahana, encircled bellflower, and four encircled three-stipe family crest (mitsubiki-mon of Sakuma and Abe clans, and some others). On the reverse the design is similar but two of the mitsubiki-mon symbols replaced with two comb-shaped Genji-mon ideographs. Ōnin school. The end of mid-Muromachi period, beginning of the 16th century. Size: 74.3 x 72.7 x 2.4 mm.  
  • Pre-Columbian, South Coast of Peru, Nazca, ca. 400 - 600 CE. Polychrome double-spout, or stir-up vessel (jar, or bottle), decorated on both sides with designs of masked Mythical Spotted Cat (or the Cat Deity) with a trophy head. Colors: Black, Cream, Gray, Orange, White, Dark Red, Light Red (8 colors).

    Size: 17.2 x 14 cm.

    References:
    1. A Sourcebook of Nasca Ceramic Iconography: Reading a Culture through Its Art. Donald A. Proulx. University of Iowa Press, 2006; pp. 88-91. [LIB-1556].
    2. The Archaeology and Pottery of Nazca, Peru: Alfred Kroeber’s 1926 Expedition. Alfred L. Kroeber and Donald Collier, edited by Patrick H. Carmichael with an afterword by Katharina J. Schreiber. AltaMira Press in coop. with Field Museum, Chicago, Il., 1998; p.121. [LIB-1557].

    Ex Arte Xibalba, Florida; Ex Robert Dowling Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Kunisada ga [国貞画] in a red double-gourd cartouche. Publisher: Iseya Sōemon [伊勢屋惣右衛門] (Japanese, c. 1776 – 1862). Date seal and kiwame censor seal: 1840 (Tenpō 11). Media: Untrimmed fan print (uchiwa-e), 227 x 293 mm. Title: Benzaiten Shrine at Honjō Block One [ひとつ目乃弁天] (Hitotsume no Benten). Provenance: The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christie's, New York, 2017, lot 341; sold together with 5 other fan prints for $25,000. Before: Christie's, New York, 1997, lot 93 ($5,520). Ref: [LIB-1693.2018] The Collection of Paul Walter. — NY: Christie's, 2017, p. 363. Ref: Israel Goldman, Catalogue 2018, № 31: "Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) A Woman Reading a Letter by the Light of a Lantern. Hitotsume no Benten (One-eyed Benten). 1840. Fan print. Provenance: Japanese Prints, Paintings and Screens, Christie's, New York, 1997, lot 93 ($5,520), The Collection of Paul F. Walter, Christie's, New York, 2017, lot 341. Fine impression and colour. Expertly restored wormholes in the lower margin." Markus Sesko comment regarding the series title: "Some time between in the latter half of the 17th century, blind acupuncturist Sugiyama Waichi (1614–1694) cured a neurotic disease afflicting Shōgun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. Tsunayoshi asked Sugiyama what he would like as a reward, he answered that all that he would really desire was just one functioning eye. Now here we arrive at a wordplay. “One eye,” as you know, is Hitotsu-me in Japanese. As Tsunayoshi obviously could not reward Sugiyama with an eye, he gave him the entire first block of the Honjō neighbourhood in Edo, measuring about 1.2 ha. So, Honjō Block One is Honjō Hitotsu-me in Japanese as me not only means “eye,” but also “number.” Sugiyama moved there, but as he was praying to Benzaiten enshrined in the Enoshima-jinja southwest of Kamakura, Tsunayoshi gave Sugiyama permission to erect a small shrine on his new premises that was then dedicated to Benzaiten as well. To spare the old blind man the long trip so to speak. This shrine was named Honjō Hitotsu-me Benzaiten Shrine, short Hitotsu-me Benten, meaning the “Benzaiten Shrine at Honjō Block One.” That is, the label in the print refers to this context, i.e., location, not to a one-eyed Benzaiten. Sugiyama also had some rock formations of the “original” Benzaiten Shrine at Enoshima copied at his place, which was named Iwaya (い王や) (see picture attached). The lantern the woman is holding in the print is inscribed “Imuya” (い無や). Usually, the character mu (無) is not read wa in replacing a syllable, so maybe Imuya can be attributed to artistic freedom on part of Utagawa Kunisada, referring to the local Iwaya garden?"
  • Iron tsuba of round form inlaid with brass and shakudo (suemon-zōgan) with a design of tendrils, leaves, double gourds, and folding fan with two wild geese on the face and the same design only with a fan with two interlocked rings (wachigai) on the back. Design is supplemented with a round family crest (mon) of three fans in openwork (sukashi). Hitsu-ana and the mon are outlined with brass rope. Copper sekigane.

    Some attribute such tsuba as belonging to Heianjō or even Yoshirō School, and date them to Momoyama period. I keep this piece under Ōnin rubric, late Muromachi, but this is just a question of personal preference.

    Some inlay is missing, some repaired; traces of rust. Otherwise - decent condition.

    Late Muromachi period (1514-1573). Size: 77.4 x 77.1 x 3.8 (center), 3.2 (rim) mm
  • Comte de Tressan. L'évolution de la garde de sabre japonaise de la fin du XVe siècle au commencement du XVIIe (suite), 34 illustr. – pp. 7-35. // Bulletin de la Société Franco-Japonaise de Paris; №№ 19-20, Juin–Septembre 1910, 216 p. — Paris: Société Franco-Japonaise de Paris, Siège Social, 1910. Publisher's original green wrappers with black lettering: On top: Paraissant trimestriellement. | JUIN | SEPTEMBRE | } 1920 | XIX-XX | In the middle: BULLETIN | de la | Société Franco-Japonaise | de Paris | [—] Fondée le 16 Septembre 1900 | [device] | Bottom: Siège Social : | PALAIS DU LOUVRE — PAVILLON DE MARSAN | 107, RUE DE RIVOLI, 107 | Paris | 1910 | Prix : 4 fr 50 c || — Pp.: [4] [1-5] 6-216 [2 - errata / blank] [2 - imprim./ blank] [6]. Size: 27 x 17.5 cm.    
  • Iron tsuba of six-lobed (mutsu-mokkō-gata) form, with six wild boar's eye shape (inome) openings (sukashi). Hitsu-ana and the entire perimeter of tsuba have typical for this school raised rim. Lobes are decorated with landscape motifs in low relief carving (sukidashi-bori). On the obverse: A hut under a full moon, Shinto shrine gates (torii) with pines and a full moon, rocks, a large pine tree, and a temple (pagoda) surrounded by rocks and waves. On the reverse: waves, fishing boat, wild gees in flight under full moon, maple, hexagon (tortoiseshell, kikko) with a dot inside and a dot outside (inclusion/exclusion symbol), and chrysanthemum (the last two may be family crests, mon). Kamakura-bori school. Late Muromachi period (1514-1573). Height: 64.2 mm, width: 74.3 mm, Thickness at seppa-dai: 3.2 mm, at rim 2.6 mm. Weight: 62.8 g (light). NBTHK old green certificate №561: Tokubetsu Kicho  - "Extraordinary Work". A look-a-like tsuba can be found at the Compton Collection, part II, pp. 14-15, №17, though his tsuba is more massive (80 x 84 x 4 mm).

    Compton Collection, part II, pp. 14-15, №17: Kamakura-bori tsuba, ca. 1450.

    NBTHK paper says that the motif is Hakkei (八景), i.e. "Eight Views," so several interpretations are possible (the original Chinese ones, Omi Hakkei, etc.).  However, most likely it is the 'Eight views of Omi' (近江八景  - 'Omi Hakkei'). Why the artist selected a 6-lobed form for depicting 8 views remains unclear, and thus we are in our right to raise the question whether the motif is indeed Hakkei. The term Omi hakkei (eight views of Omi) refers to painting or print sets which illustrate life on the shores of Lake Biwa in Omi (now Shiga Prefecture). The model for such paintings came from China, where, from the eleventh century onward, painters had produced eight views of the Hsiao and Hsiang lake areas of Hunan Province. The themes, which follow the original Chinese models, are: geese descending to land, returning fishing boats, clearing rain, a snow-covered evening landscape, the autumn moon, night rain, a temple bell at evening, and the glow of sunset. Japanese artists have also used the eight-theme approach for other parts of country - including cities - and applied it to subject matter other than landscapes. [Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001, page 308-9]. Japan Encyclopedia by Louis Frédéric also mentions Omi Hakkei as "Eight landscapes of Omi", and states that this theme was often cited in poetry after 1500. It is likely that the tsuba in focus is designed under the influence of the theme popularity in the 16th century. The theme was effectively exploited by prominent ukiyo-e artists Suzuki Harunobu and Utagawa Hiroshige in the 18th and 19th century, respectively. These are the eight scenes of the theme (see Wikipedia):
    • Returning sails at Yabase (矢橋の帰帆) - Yabase. Yabase is an old harbour on the east side of the lake. Near the Tokaido, it was used for a shortcut to Otsu by boat.
    • Evening glow at Seta (勢多(瀬田)の夕照) - The Chinese Bridge at Seta. The long bridge across the Seta was used by the Tokaido. In the background the "Fuji of Omi", the Mikamiyama. It is just above 400 m, but indeed well visible.
    • Autumn moon at Ishiyama (石山の秋月) - Ishiyama Temple. The Ishiyamadera was located on a hillside next to the Seta River. It got his name form the strange rocks on which it is built, partly on supporting beams. A hut at the upper end of the site allows a view of the lake, and the moon.
    • Clear breeze at Awazu (粟津の晴嵐) - Awazuhara. Awazu is well known for its pine wood, Awazu-ga-hara.
    • Evening bell at Miidera (三井晩鐘) - Mii-dera. Miidera temple was built in the 8th century. Its famous bell is one of the "Three bells of Japan", the other two being those at Byoodo-in, Uji and at Jingoji, Kyoto.
    • Evening rain at Karasaki (唐崎の夜雨) - Karasaki Shrine. Karasaki is a small cape with a single large pine tree, a hitsu-matsu.
    • Wild geese returning home at Katata (堅田の落雁) - Ukimido. Alighting geese cannot be seen always, however the little temple near Katata in the square hōkyō-style, detached from the lakeside, connected by a bridge. The first part of the name uki is the same as in Ukiyo-e, meaning floating. Midō means temple.
    • Evening snow at Hira (比良の暮雪) - Hira Mountains. The Hira mountains on the west side of the lake experience the hard winter, when the winter monsoon brings much snow from the continent.
    In any case, as a conservative, I say that it is a landscape motif and a late Muromachi period work, rather than Omi hakkei motif and a mid-Muromachi work.
  • Seller provided description:
    "Finely painted via the red-figure technique, an elegant pelike vessel of a classic globular form with a cylindrical neck rising to a flared rim, and twin fluted handles, all upon a raised, concave, disc foot.
    Side A depicts a winged Eros who stands in contrapposto facing toward the left, in the nude save sandals, bracelets, a beaded sash, and a stephane (wreath) holding a situla (pail) in his left hand and gesturing toward the seated maenad before him. Though with her breasts exposed, the maenad does wear a lower garment, and is bedecked with a stephane, multiple bracelets, and strands of pearls around her neck - all delineated in fugitive white and yellow pigment. She holds a mirror in her left upraised hand and leans upon a tambourine with her right elbow. Above and to the right is a maker's mark of a circular format with a central X that is further adorned by nested wedges and dot motifs. Side B presents two opposing standing draped male figures, the gent on the left leaning upon a walking stick. Complementing the figural program, is a lovely decorative program adorning both sides of the vessel, with bands of laurel leaves above and a repeating Greek key/meander below. An outstanding example, masterfully wheel thrown, so that we see absolutely no signs of any jogs in the transitions between the different elements of the vase. Moreover, it presents ideal proportions perfect for presenting the superb painted iconographic/decorative program. The painting was executed with the utmost skill and artistry - the red-figure technique enabling the artist to delineate the figures' musculature, facial details, as well as the cascading drapery folds with extensive fugitive paint embellishments.
    Expected surface wear with some scuffs and pigment losses commensurate with age, but the painted program is generally very well preserved. Area of repair/restoration to cloak of male on right (Side B). Minute nick to left of male on left (Side B). Nice root marks throughout and areas of encrustation. Thermoluminescence (TL) report: the piece has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. Equivalent age: 2400 +/- 300 years. Certificate of Authenticity from Artemis Gallery. Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection. Greece, Southern Italy, Apulia, ca. 330 BCE.
    Size: 6.75" in diameter x 9.875" H (17.1 cm x 25.1 cm)
    Polina de Mauny, being both attentive and knowledgeable, was the first who noticed a possible mistake in the description above. It is highly probable that the woman on side A is not a maenad but Aphrodite herself, holding a mirror and leaning on a shield. Maenads were "often portrayed as inspired by Dionysus into a state of ecstatic frenzy through a combination of dancing and intoxication". The situla, held by Eros, unequivocally alludes to Dionysian ritual, which has to do as much with maenads as with Aphrodite. The nature of two men on side B remain unclear.