Byzantine Bronze Amphora

Culture: Byzantine

Period: 6th century A.D.

Material: Bronze

Dimensions: 40.5 cm high

Price: Sold

Ref: 3390

Provenance: German private collection in the 1990s. Last in the private collection Claus-Eberhard Schultze, Berlin, Germany.

Condition: Cleaned, small holes in the lower area of the wall, only visible against the light. Overall very well preserved.

Description: Large bronze amphora formed from a hammered bronze sheet with a projecting corpus, standing on a set off foot ring. The shoulder sloping with a set off step. On the upper step incised herringbone decoration. The neck tapering towards the top, the mouth widely pulled out, the rim vertical. The handles in the shape of two leopards are worked out separately. The animals sit with their forepaws, worked out in details, on a crescent bronze piece attached horizontally on the mouth. The closed and stylized hind legs sit on a triangular bronze plate with a drop-shaped ending. The animals’ tail is raised and rest on the back. See for the type two bronze amphoras with Christie’s New York, 4 June 2015, lots 27 and 29.