Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art
Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art
The Property of a Gentleman
Byzantine, 12th/ 13th century
Six vessels with hares
Lot Closed
December 6, 01:08 PM GMT
Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
The Property of a Gentleman
Byzantine, 12th/ 13th century
Six vessels with hares
engraved cut-slip earthenware
the smallest: 5 by 21.5cm., 2 by 8½in.
the largest: 10.5 by 27cm., 4 1/8 by 10 5/8 in.
With Artemis, Munich, 1997, where acquired by the present owner
Decorations including hares were often found on 12th and 13th-century Byzantine pottery, usually within the context of hunting. The present vessels show single hares, which appears to be a rare iconography. More commonly, hares were depicted with other animals or human figures; see examples in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and at the Archaeological Museum in Corinth, Greece (op. cit., nos. 190, 191 and 192).
RELATED LITERATURE
E. D. Maguire, ‘Ceramic Arts of Everyday Life’, in H.C. Evans and W. D. Wixom (eds.), The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, AD 843-1261, exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997, pp. 254-272