A unique Late Cypriote Bronze Age jar from Demetrios Pierides’ excavations in Cyprus, formerly in the Joseph Altounian Collection, Mâcon, France, and the circulation of Cypriote antiquities in the 19th century AD
The auction sale of the Joseph Altounian Collection by Artcurial on 17 and 18 September 2019 in Paris has offered the opportunity to study a Late Cypriote Bronze Age vase which is exceptional as much for its historiographical context as for its technical features. This Base-ring I jar owes its uniqu...
Gorde:
| Argitaratua izan da: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cchyp, |
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| Egile Nagusiak: | , |
| Formatua: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Hizkuntza: | Anglais |
| Argitaratua: |
Cahiers du Centre d’Études Chypriotes
2022
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| Sarrera elektronikoa: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Gaia: | The auction sale of the Joseph Altounian Collection by Artcurial on 17 and 18 September 2019 in Paris has offered the opportunity to study a Late Cypriote Bronze Age vase which is exceptional as much for its historiographical context as for its technical features. This Base-ring I jar owes its unique form to a combination of other types which share the same morphological and decorative elements and place it in a cultic environment. The vase, whose findspot is unknown, carries a label specifying that it ultimately came from the collection of Demetrios Pierides, a Cypriote businessman and savant in Larnaca, who is said to have dug it up himself and sold it at auction in Paris in 1873. There is nothing unusual in this as Pierides was following the example of his contemporaries in Larnaca during the 19th century by acquiring and disposing of Cypriote antiquities in this way. At the same time, however, he had the distinction of devoting himself to the scientific study of his own finds and assembling a remarkable collection which has survived up to this day. An examination of Pierides’ activities as the source of the enrichment of museums and private collections sheds light on the way the heritage of the island began to be recognised and studied, laying the foundations for the modern discipline of Cypriote archaeology. This underlines the influential role of the antiquities trade in the 19th century which continues up till now in various guises and should become a field for specific research. |
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