Provenance Information

December 18, 2009, anonymous sale, Gorny and Mosch, Munich, lot 18, to Rupert Wace Ancient Art Ltd., London; January 2010, sold by Wace to Safani Gallery Inc., New York; 2010, sold by Safani to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 16, 2010)

NOTE: According to a signed and notarized statement provided by Bernd Lehmann of Kulmbach, Germany (March 24, 2010), he sold this object in Munich in 2000. This affidavit states that the table leg had belonged to Johannes Behrens (b. 1874 - d. 1947) of Bremen, a naval officer from 1908 until 1939, who traveled in the Mediterranean and South America, leaving his family a collection of objects from all over the world. News reports from 2022 of an antiquities trafficking investigation have cast doubts on the veracity of this ownership history, which has otherwise accompanied objects alleged to be looted.

Exhibition Information

None

Publication Information

None

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Informed judgement that works were outside of the country of modern discovery before 1970

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

At the time this was acquired, its provenance was believed to be traceable to a date earlier than 1970. The MFA has since uncovered new information that casts doubts on this account of its ownership history.

Provenance Information

With Joseph Coplin and Robin Beningson [Antiquarium, Ltd.], New York, New York, from at least 1996.

Exhibition Information

Monsters, Demons & Winged Beasts: Composite Creatures in the Ancient World, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 5 - June 19, 2011;
Michael C. Carlos Museum Morgens West Foundation Galleries of Ancient Near Eastern Art, November 10, 2018 - Present

Publication Information

Antiquarium, Ltd., Zoologica (1996), 20.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

Object had been published 12 years before coming to museum. The Carlos continues to conduct provenance research on this object and all of our collections.

Provenance Information

with Dr. Milton Jacobs (1927-2018), San Antonio, by 2018; gift of his estate to the San Antonio Museum of Art, 2019

Exhibition Information

n/a

Publication Information

n/a

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Informed judgement that works were outside of the country of modern discovery before 1970

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The collector from whose estate the San Antonio Museum of Art acquired this work purchased a number of ancient objects on the London art market in the 1960s and 1970s, but SAMA has been unable to substantiate the precise date when he acquired this bottle. The bottle is inscribed on the bottom, in ink, with what appears to be a former inventory number: 955.64.21/E119, but SAMA has been unable to identify a previous owner associated with this number. SAMA’s collection has no other bottles of this type, so the acquisition fills a gap in the collection of Roman glass.

Provenance Information

with Dr. Milton Jacobs (1927-2018), San Antonio, by 2018; gift of his estate to the San Antonio Museum of Art, 2019

Exhibition Information

n/a

Publication Information

n/a

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Informed judgement that works were outside of the country of modern discovery before 1970

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The collector from whose estate the San Antonio Museum of Art acquired this work purchased a number of ancient objects on the London art market in the 1960s and 1970s, but SAMA has been unable to substantiate the precise date when he acquired this bottle. The bottle is inscribed on the bottom, in ink, with what appears to be a former inventory number: 955.64.21/E119, but SAMA has been unable to identify a previous owner associated with this number. SAMA’s collection has no other bottles of this type, so the acquisition fills a gap in the collection of Roman glass.

Provenance Information

with Dr. Milton Jacobs (1927-2018), San Antonio, by 2018; gift of his estate to the San Antonio Museum of Art, 2019

Exhibition Information

n/a

Publication Information

n/a

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Cumulative facts and circumstances

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The collector from whose estate the San Antonio Museum of Art acquired this work purchased a number of ancient objects on the London art market in the 1960s and 1970s, but SAMA has been unable to substantiate the precise date when he acquired this bottle. SAMA’s collection has only one other bottle of this type, so the acquisition fills a gap in the collection of Roman glass.

Provenance Information

Formerly in the Kyros Melas Collection, London, England. With the Aridane Galleries since 1993; acquired by Martin Segal from the Ariadne Galleries in 2000; partial gift of Martin Segal to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006, with the remaining portion given in 2012.

Exhibition Information

None.

Publication Information

None.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Partial interest received prior to 2008

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

This work has established provenance to at least 1993 and, prior to that date, was the in the Kyros Melas Collection. The work was accepted as a partial gift in 2006. This helmet is a welcome addition to The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s significant holdings of ancient Greek armor. It is a rare example of a subtype of the Illyrian helmet, of which only three other examples are known. One of these is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collections (35.11.2).