Saturday 11 October 2008

Apulian Pottery at Bonhams

The Apulian volute-krater that is due to be auctioned at Bonhams next week (October 15) is one of several Apulian pieces in the same auction. (This is separate from the sale of the Graham Geddes collection.)
  • Lot 179: Squat lekythos. Previous history: "Acquired by the French owner at auction in the UK in 1993. Accompanied by a French passport."
  • Lot 180: Volute-krater. Previous history: "Ex Robin Symes Collection."
  • Lot 182: Knob-handled patera. Previous history: "Ex London private collection."
  • Lot 183: Plate. Previous history: "Property of an English gentleman, acquired in the U.K. between 1977 and 2003."
  • Lot 185: Thymiaterion. Previous history: "Acquired at French auction, accompanied by a French passport."
  • Lot 190: Chous. Previous history: "Property of an English gentleman, acquired in the U.K. between the 1950s and the 1980s."
  • Lot 266a: Oinochoe. Previous history: "Property of an English gentleman, acquired in the U.K. between the 1950s and the 1980s."
  • Lot 268b: Spherical pxis lid. Previous history (for all three pieces in the lot): "Acquired at auction in France and the UK in 1990."
So only two pieces (lots 190 and 266a) may have been acquired before 1970 - but both could equally have surfced in the 1980s. What are the detailed histories of all these pieces?

It is important to ask because we know the scale of the looting in the Apulian cemeteries over recent decades.

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