A Pair of Hellenistic Silver Ram-Head Appliqués

Culture: Greek

Period: Late 3rd to early 2nd century B.C.

Material: Silver

Dimensions: 4 cm wide each; weight 32 and 32.3 grams resp.

Price: 18 000 Euro

Ref: 2669

Provenance: American private collection E.D. since the late 1970s. In the family collection ever since. With confirmation from the heirs.

Condition: Intact

Description: Masterfully crafted, heavy silver appliqués in the form of ram heads. These cast and cold-worked animal protomes once adorned an important vessel and undoubtedly originate from a Greek workshop. The expressive faces are rendered naturalistically, with closed mouths, recessed nostrils, and slightly undulating nasal bones. The eyes project plastically, although in frontal view, they are partly obscured by the horns curling backwards. The viewer best perceives the intensity of their gaze from the side, through the curve of the horns. The fur on the forehead and head is rendered in fine detail. The horns themselves are marked by precisely incised transverse ridges. Compare to Hellenistic ram representations, see especially the ram from Castello Maniace, which is now housed in the Museo Archeologico Regionale Antonino Salinas in Palermo with the inventory number 8365.