A.C. MONTANARO, Staatliche Antikensammlungen München, in N. Negroni Catacchio, V. Gallo (a cura di), L’ambra nell’antichità. Le figure femminili alate e altri studi, Centro di Studi di Preistoria e Archeologia (Milano), Noventa Padovana (PD) 2021, pp. 188-189. (original) (raw)
Related papers
N. Negroni Catacchio, V. Gallo (a cura di), L’ambra nell’antichità. Le figure femminili alate e altri studi, Centro di Studi di Preistoria e Archeologia (Milano), Noventa Padovana (PD), 2021
Six amber pendants representing winged female figures come from the collections of the auction houses. The first amber belongs to Christie’s antiquities collection and comes from a private Swiss collection. The context of origin is unknown, but the stylistic and formal features allow its attribution to the same workshop which created the female figures from Melfi. The carving and engraving processing involved all the sides, except the rear. The face is shown in the top left, in profile and looking back; the hair, made with fine engravings, is partially covered by a hat. At the center is a large wing with a sinuous profile, and the feathers are delineated by fine engravings. The find can be dated around the mid-fifth century BC. The second amber belongs to the collection of Geneva Phoenix Ancient Art SA, bought at Sotheby’s in London. There are no data about the provenance and the context of discovery. The particular refinement of pendant’s stylistic features allow its attribution to a workshop of the “Satyr and Maenad Group”, and most likely comes from the Canosinan or otherwise Daunian territory. The carving and engraving workmanship involved all sides, except for the rear. The face, crafted with precise detail, is represented in the upper left, in profile and looking back; the hairs are partially covered by a headgear. At the center, there is a large wing with a sinuous profile and clearly defined plumage. The find can be dated between the late sixth and the first half of the fifth century BC. The third amber, belonging to the collection of London Timeline Auctions, was acquired from a private collection in London. It lacks any data about the place of provenance and the context of discovery. Although less refined in the rendering of details, the pendant can be considered a product of the workshops belonging to the Atelier of the “Winged Warrior Master,” and it was probably found in a burial of the Daunian-Melfese area. The carving and engraving workmanship involved all sides of the pendant, except the rear. The face is represented in the top right in profile and looking back; all the particulars of the face are rendered in a highly detailed manner; the hair is partially covered by a hat. At the center is a large wing with a sinuous profile and clearly defined plumage. The find can be dated to the second half of the fifth century BC. The fourth pendant, belonging to Pierre Bergé & Associés galleries in Paris, was acquired from a private collection in Brussels. It lacks any data on the place of origin of the piece and the context to which it belongs. The particular refinement of the stylistic features of the pendant allows its attribution to one of the workshops of the “Satyr and Maenad Group,” whose works are characterized by smooth flowing lines and a fluid molding, and most likely comes from the Canosinan area or otherwise Daunian territory. The workmanship in carving and engraving involved all the sides, except for the rear. The face, rendered in a very detailed manner, is represented in the upper right, in profile and looking back; the hair is partially covered by a hat. The figure wears a chiton made with fine pleats through a refined use of the relief technique. One edge of the chiton held by the left hand of the figure. To the left is a large wing with a sinuous profile and clearly defined plumage. The find can be dated about the midfifth century BC. The fifth pendant belongs to Artemis Gallery Auctions in USA (Erie) and was acquired from a private collection in Switzerland (Zurich). It depicts the profile of a winged sphinx with her head in prospect. It lacks any data regarding the place of origin of the piece and the context to which it belongs except a general provenance from South Italy and a chronology fixed at sixth century BC. The particular refinement of the pendant’s stylistic features allows its attribution to one of the workshops of the “Winged Sphinx Master,” whose works are characterized by the shape of the head, rather rounded, with hair made up in a swollen and compact bulk, framing the face with detectable circular lines and with defined features, very thin and minute, obtained through a skillful use of engraving. The female figure n. 25f, a siren, belonging to the collection of antiquities of Aphrodite Ancient Art auction house in New York (Lot. No. 977), was acquired from an American private collection (which was built around the 80s). It was, however, formerly part of an European private collection. In this case, as for other pieces, useful data to determine the place of origin and the context of discovery are completely absent. The only known data are the generic provenance from southern Italy, the attribution to Greek workmanship, and the chronology, which sets the piece in the second half of the fifth century BC. The particular refinement of facial features and the different hair tresses falling behind and to the sides of the head make it a unique example comparable with a siren from a private collection in New York. The figure finds direct and punctual comparisons with the profile of a female head from tomb 164 of Banzi, dated to the first quarter of the fifth century BC, which shows the same refined and well-modulated treatment of the hair on the forehead; the artifact is attributed to the workshop of the “Master of Winged Warrior.” Said workshop was probably operated by cultured and refined artisans of different origin (Greek, Magna Graecia, and Etruscan), which would explain the presence of certain stylistic variations in amber sculptures produced within the workshop.
N. Negroni Cataccchio, V. Gallo (a cura di), L’Ambra nell’Antichità. Le figure femminili alate e altri studi, 2021
Three figured ambers are preserved in the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art, including a pendant in the form of a winged sphinx. The amber is said to come from Taranto, but it is more likely that it was found in a tomb of one of the most important towns of Peucezia, such as Rutigliano. In fact, it has some formal and stylistic features that are commonly recognizable on the figured ambers found at that site. The carving and engraving process involved all the sides, except the rear. The figure is resting on a small rectangular base and is crouched on her haunches. The head is carved in all round, and it is addressed in profile facing left; her hair is made with undulating features on the forehead, stopped by a diadem and partially covered by a hat. At the top, on the right, there is a large wing with a sinuous profile, with the feathers delineated by a series of engravings. The find has been dated to the late sixth century BC.
L’Ambra nell’Antichità. Le figure femminili alate e altri studi, 2021
The J. Paul Getty Museum’s collection of amber antiquities was formed between 1971 and 1984. Apart from the Roman Head of Medusa, which Mr. Getty acquired as part of a larger purchase of antiquities in 1971, all the other ancient amber objects were acquired as gifts. The collection mostly consists of Pre-Roman material, but also includes a small number of Roman-period carvings, of which the Head of Medusa is the most important. The Pre-Roman material includes a variety of jewelry elements that date from the seventh to the fourth centuries BC: fifty-six figured works and approximately twelve hundred non-figured beads, fibulae, and pendants, all gifts from sir Gordon McLendon in 1976. A winged female head in profile showing specific characteristics stands out in a particular way among the ambers of our interest, especially in the treatment of some anatomical details. These details call to mind the female protomes from Canosa and Melfese area, framed in the context of the production of the “Master of the Winged Warrior,” one of the workshops operating within the famous “Satyr and Maenad Group.” Particularly interesting is the rendering of the hair on the forehead, made out in clumps or in wavy bands, which brings in a clear manner this protome to a similar artifact from the tomb 164 of Banzi. The other two winged female heads of the Getty Museum are characterized by a high tutulus and diadem that cover all the hair, big eyes profiled by a deep, almost lozenge-shaped groove, big pyramid-shape nose, small mouth, and tight lips. These figures fully fall, from a stylistic point of view, within the group of female heads gathered under the so-called “Roccanova Group”, and in particular between the protomes of type B in the classification of Montanaro, widespread especially in Canosa area.
N. Negroni Catacchio, V. Gallo (a cura di), L'ambra nell'antichità, Le figure femminili alate e altri studi, Milano, 2021
In the necropolis of Ceglie del Campo (BA), ten figured ambers were found, among which there are two pendants in the form of a winged female figure. The carving and engraving were carried out on all the sides of the first item with the exception of the rear. The face of the winged figure is shown in the upper left in profile and looking back; the hairs were rendered through a series of parallel engraved lines, vertical on the front and horizontal on the nape, and are partially covered by a hat. On the right there is a large wing with a sinuous profile, with individual feathers delineated by a series of parallel incisions. The discovery can be dated in the last decades of the fifth century BC. The workmanship in the carving and engraving of the second pendant involves the front side and the lower, in part. All of the face’s details and those of the figure’s wings are not readable due to the corroded surface of the pendant. The discovery can be dated in the second quarter of the fifth century BC. The two pendants belong to the collections of the Museo Archeologico della Città Metropolitana di Bari.
L'Ambra nell'Antichità. Le figure femminili alate e altri studi
2021
Questo primo volume ha come argomento principale lo studio delle ambre figurate preromane in forma di figura femminile alata rinvenute in territorio italiano o riconducibili a tale area in base ad analisi stilistica. La ricerca è preceduta da un inquadramento della tematica all’interno del panorama dell’ambra nell’antichità e, più nello specifico, in quello dei manufatti figurati di età preromana. Il volume comprende anche altri studi circa le ambre protostoriche rinvenute nel sito di Roca (Lecce), con relative analisi per la provenienza della materia prima, i manufatti in forma di figura femminile nuda provenienti dall’area etrusco-laziale, una protome di ariete inedita conservata presso il Virginia Museum of Fine Arts di Richmond e le ambre figurate rinvenute presso il sito di Rutigliano (Bari), con particolare attenzione ad una in forma di volatile. Abstracts in English
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L’Ambra nell’Antichità. Le figure femminili alate e altri studi, 2021
In the Peucetian necropolis of Contrada Purgatorio at Rutigliano, one of the largest groups of figured ambers from the Apulian area was found. Many of them are characterized by a high stylistic level. Among these ambers is a bird-shaped pendant with spread wings, probably a water-bird, which was part of a necklace composed of several figured elements found in tomb 10/1976, related to a rich female burial. The workmanship in carving and engraving involved all sides, except the rear. The head with a long beak is at the top. At the bottom, the large wings have a straight profile with a few bends and are characterized by thick longitudinal and transverse incisions representing feathers. The find can be dated to the late fifth century BC and is held, together with all the other ambers from the same necropolis, in the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto.
Estratto di BRETSCHNEIDER -ROMA rrH^LLEIX l9?7. p.561. Per iL prccednrcnio della susn,tuù a caldo si veda }loAM 1950. 'r MorrEsEN 1988, pp. 4-42+43. Pèr i lasi ri.cnci sì reda LúrERsnHR i966 ll maììsì spcl hgratl.h. è\ègunè da M. famswoÍn sù r.li vasi hanno evi&n?iab ìa presenzx di pùro osido di rasno. tj Per ie atleratoni dcl bronro linaìè si !Òtla DELTNo 1978i in generale, per le uúc c pcr il rascllaùÈ dè.ùralJ a lmelle BARroLoN, DEDTNo 19t5r DELprNo l98l; B^ÈtuLoM 1985, p 2ltl RaRroLoNi-BLNLLT, D Arnr. DH SaMrs 1931, pp. 130, ll2-113, 169, i7l, 174, 135. 202 204. Cone ò noro. ìx dcco.r;one {li un raso o di unuma con lanrsìlc di agnosieseguivacorunatecnicaprcfondmentediveagno si eseguiva cor una tecni ca prcfondmente diveagnosieseguivacorunatecnicaprcfondmentedivea dàùa rùgnàrùra a.ddo. Lc lmelle, lavonte a pare. venivrno tìssxrc sùlla super|clc .on ùra sond di colìa Esilosa
Dialoghi sull’Archeologia della Magna Grecia e del Mediterraneo Atti del VI Convegno Internazionale di Studi, 2021, 2022
Among Italic figured ambers, some specimens made by a particularly refined craftsman (or workshop) stand out, known as the “Master of the Winged Sphinxes”, stylistically linked to the “Armento Group”, characterized by an extraordinary delicacy of the design and a remarkable accuracy in the rendering of every single detail. Since there is still no specific study on these carved ambers, this work will present the most refined artifacts found within prestigious contexts and widespread especially among the indigenous settlements of Basilicata, outlining the main stylistic elements. However, this analysis also includes many specimens found in Campania and Picenum, which show several common stylistic features such as to suggest the same origin. Here the proposal for a re-reading of the problem relating to the production of these objects will be addressed not only considering the stylistic and typological aspects, but also the sociological ones, framed in a broader context of the issues relating to indigenous handicraft of the Archaic period.