< PreviousPaleolithic and Neolithic stone tools from Europe.CQ11Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2018AN ANTEFIX WITH VENUS AND MARS. H. max. 27 cm. Terracotta. An antefix with a relief depicting the divine lovers Mars and Venus. The god of war sits to left with his legs crossed and rests his right hand on a round shield. Similar representations reveal that Mars probably wore a helmet and held a lance in his left hand. On his proper left Venus leans against a column in a lascivious pose. Her chiton has slipped from her shoulders and barely covers her breasts and its sheer fabric reveals the sensuous forms of her slender body. A cloak is draped around her legs and left arm and would originally have been held in place by her (now missing) raised right hand. Several antefixes with the same composition have been preserved. They were originally painted and formed the lowest row of tiles on the eaves of a temple or public building. On the reverse of the relief the beginning of the kalypter (an elongated tile which covered the butt joints between the roof tiles and thus prevented rain water from entering) is visible. Top quarter of the antefix missing. Formerly priv. coll. J. R. L., England, acquired on the European art market in the 1980s. Roman, late 1st cent. B.C.-early 1st cent. A.D. CHF 12,800A MIRROR LID WITH DIONYSIAC SCENE. Dm. 11 cm. Bronze. Raised relief showing the drunk god of wine Di-onysos leaning on Eros. A mantle is draped over his left arm, and he shoulders a thyrsus. The kithara player could be Ariadne, Dionysos' lover. Picture field almost com-pletely framed by an encircling frieze of lines. Reverse lined with lead. Tiny pieces missing at the edge. Priv. coll. B.-S., Switzerland; acquired from Münzen und Medaillen AG, Basel, 30.9.1967. Etruscan, 3rd cent. B.C. CHF 7,800A STATUETTE OF A DRAPED WOMAN. H. 21.7 cm. Ter-racotta. Standing with right leg slightly bent and right arm akimbo, the young woman is almost completely en-veloped in a voluminous himation. The heavy drapery is pulled over her head as a veil, then wrapped from her chin around her upper body in thick folds and gathered in her bundled left hand. A shod right foot peeks out of the folds of her skirt, on which traces of the original pink colour are preserved. From the estate of the Swiss art dealer and collector Elsa Bloch-Diener (1922-2012), Berne, acquired between 1968 and 1983. Greek or West-ern Greek, 3rd-2nd cent. B.C. CHF 6,500A STATUETTE OF A DANCING WOMAN. H. 20.3 cm. Terracotta. The dancing woman raises her right arm, bending it so that her hand lies above her breasts. Her left hand is placed energetically akimbo and she twists her body in an ecstatic, serpentine motion. Echoing her movements, the richly pleated, almost transparent gar-ment clings to her body, revealing her slender form and staggered legs. The dynamism of the body’s posture is further enhanced by the dancer’s delicate head which is turned sharply to the left. Her himation envelopes most of her head, leaving only her forehead, eyes, nose and cheeks free. Extensive remains of the white coating that served as a ground for the paint preserved. Delicate traces of yellow and red paint. Reassembled from large fragments. Formerly priv. coll. Charles Martyne (1876-1936), librarian at the École des Beaux-Arts and a friend of French poet Robert Desnos. Thereafter by descent in the collection of his nephew Jean-Louis Debauve (1926-2016). Thereafter in possession of the family. Greek or Western Greek, 4th-2nd cent. B.C. CHF 6,800CQ12Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2018A PSI IDOL. H. 12.4 cm. Terracotta. Hand-modelled, stylised female figure. The body is composed of basic geometric forms. Cylindrical lower body with flaring hem as base. The upper body with flat breasts and raised arms forms a crescent. Narrow, elongated head with pro-nounced, pinched nose and flaring headdress (polos). Brown glaze for the eyes, mouth, hair and details of the garment. Clay figurines of this type are typical of the apogee and Late Period of the Mycenean culture. The canonical phi, tau and psi idol types are based on the position of the arms and the figure’s overall resemblance to letters of the Greek alphabet. Our specimen belongs to the psi idol type. The arms are raised in an epiphanic gesture documented for images of deities from at least the early 2nd mill. B.C. onwards. For this reason, these stylised, female idols, which are found in the entire re-gion influenced by the Mycenean culture, are thought to have a religious significance. Nonetheless, as they were found not only in sanctuaries but also in graves (often of children) as well as in settlements, they prob-ably had varying functions. Minor chipping on polos. Glaze slightly abraded in places. With Christie's Lon-don, 6 June 1989, lot 464. Formerly priv. coll. William Froelich, New York, 1990. With Antiquarium, Ltd., New York, 2013. Published Antiquarium, Ltd., Ancient Trea-sures XI, 2013, 16. Greek, Mycenaean, Late Helladic IIIB, 13th cent. B.C. CHF 12,000A STATUETTE OF VENUS WITH CUPID. H. 27.1 cm. Marble. The goddess stands in a casual pose. She rests her weight on her right leg, while the slightly angled left leg is somewhat set back. Her slender body is wrapped in a long chiton that reaches down to her feet. A rich-ly pleated, knee-length himation is draped around her waist and left shoulder. The left arm is angled and the back of the hand rests gracefully on her hip. With her right hand the goddess grasps the tip of the garment cascading down over her left breast. The goddess can be identified as Aphrodite/Venus due to the small fig-ure of her ubiquitous companion, Eros/Cupid, who sits on her left shoulder. Our statuette belongs to a type found mainly in terracotta sculpture. It was being used for representations of Aphrodite by the 3rd cent. B.C. at the latest and the type was still current in Roman times. The motif of the left hand clutching the tip of the garment descending from the shoulder onto the chest was possibly inspired by statues of philosophers created in the Late Classical Period. The motif of the hand resting against the hip was very popular in the Hellenistic Period and was employed in various statue types representing Aphrodite. The relief-like character of our statuette, whose reverse is only roughly hewn, is due to the emphasis this statue type places on the fron-tal view. Completely preserved save for the head of the goddess and the right arm of her companion. Surface slightly worn. Formerly Collection Roger, France. There-after priv. coll. Daude, France, acquired from Galerie de Serres, Paris. Roman Provinces, 1st-2nd cent. A.D. CHF 7,600A BLACK-FIGURE OINOCHOE. H. 22.4 cm. Clay. Two hoplites crouching to left, protecting themselves with small round shields and wearing Corinthian helmets. They are both armed with two speers and one sword. Behind each one, a tendril. Line and dots as ornaments. Red colour. Reassembled from fragments, complete. Formerly coll. H. W., Switzerland, acquired 1980. Attic, ca. 510 B.C. CHF 16,000CQ13Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2018AN APPLIQUE IN THE FORM OF A VICTORY. H. 16.5 cm. Bronze. The goddess of victory with large wings is represented hastening to right. The impression of dynamic movement is heightened by the angle of her head and the fluttering drapery. She wears a belted peplos which is fastened at her shoulders with round fibulae and whose large overfold reaches down to her knees. A cloak is wound loosely around her right arm. The powerful wings are finely incised. The iconography of this magnificent applique suggests that it comes from a military context. Formerly Coll. J., Brittany, 1940s. Roman, 2nd half of 1st-2nd cent. A.D. CHF 22,000A STATUETTE OF APHRODITE. H. 47.3 cm. Marble. Hel-lenistic variant of the Urania motive. The goddess Aph-rodite stands in contrapposto on a narrow base that fol-lows the contours of the figure. She rests her weight on her right leg while the left leg is flexed and placed sight-ly to the side. The foot rests on a raised part of the base. An archaising kore on a round base with raised right arm flanks the left leg of the goddess. Similar sculptures show that Aphrodite originally rested her left lower arm on the head of the kore. The goddess wears a chiton, which clings sensuously to her midriff and cascades to the ground in generous folds. The chiton shows through the thin himation covering it. The himation covers much of her left leg, is bundled at the right hip and drawn diagonally over her body. It is tied into a bow at the left thigh and its ends trail down between her legs. The re-verse of both Aphrodite and the kore are only summarily worked. The left leg of the goddess is slightly worn, as is the himation at the right hip and between the legs. The front of the kore is heavily worn. Previously American priv. coll., Hudson, New York, since the 1970s. Formerly Sotheby's New York, Antiquities and Islamic Works of Art, Auction Sale 15 June 1988, lot no. 119. Greek, Hel-lenistic, 3rd-2nd cent. B.C. CHF 22,000A FEMALE PROTOME. H. 25.5 cm. Clay. Mould-made bust of a woman with alert eyes framed by sharply drawn eyelids, a slender nose and small mouth with full lips, hinting at a typical archaic smile. She wears a chiton laid in numerous folds over her upper body and breast. Her hair is finely defined with centrally parted waves swept back behind the ears. On her head she wears a stephane and a thin veil, draped in zigzag folds over the shoulders and breast. Remains of white clay slip. Two ancient drill holes on the top. Formerly Coll. Léon Rodrigues-Ely (1924-1973), Marseille, France. Western Greek, 4th cent. B.C. CHF 9,800A STATUETTE OF A YOUTH. H. 10.5 cm. Clay, white paint. He sits on a stone in a slightly slumped posture with his right hand placed on his right knee and his left hand rest-ing in his lap. He wears a short-sleeved chiton under a finely pleated chlamys which is fastened by a fibula on his right shoulder. Reverse only summarily sculpted. Traces of white paint. The head is reattached and the right foot is missing, otherwise well preserved. The figure may have worn a now missing hat. Formerly The Fine Arts Muse-ums, San Francisco, California, acquired by the museum in the late 19th/early 20th century, and subsequently sold to benefit The Acquisition Fund. Old label "28" on the back, two hand-written inv. nos. on the inside of the stat-uette. Greek, Boeotia, 3rd cent. B.C. CHF 2,600CQ14Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2018Recipe from AntiquityThe World’s Oldest Alcoholic Beverage By Yvonne Yiucommon ancestor of humans, chimpanzees and gorillas (HCG ancestor), who lived about 7-21 million years ago. Due to a single mu-tation, an AHD4 emerged that was able to oxidise ethanol forty times better than the same enzyme of the preceding common ancestor (HCGO ancestor, before the diver-gence of the orangutans). As the appearance of this ethanol-active ADH4 occurred at approximately the same time as the major climatic shift known as the Middle Miocene Climatic Transition, Carrigan et al. suggest-ed that it might represent an adaptation to changing environmental conditions. In the Middle Miocene, the replacement of forests by grassland ecosystems coincided with a wave of extinctions, and the fossil record reveals that hominids, too, experienced se-lective pressures which may have led to in-creased terrestrialism. As overripe fruit that has fallen to the ground has a higher ethanol content, the transition to a terrestrial mode of life may have led to a greater consump-tion of ethanol by the HCG ancestor, so that the improved ability to metabolise ethanol would have provided a selective advantage. (PNAS, 2015, 458-463).The long path leading from a possible prefer-ence of hominids for fermenting fruit to the intentional production of alcoholic beverag-es by humans remains largely in the dark. However, it seems reasonable to assume that human experimentation with alcoholic fer-mentation started out with simple processes, such as the fermentation of honey water or palm sap, the former yielding mead and the latter palm wine. These beverages can oc-cur naturally without human intervention, as both palm sap exuding from injuries in the bark and honey which is diluted by wa-ter, following a storm, for example, rapidly begin to ferment. The encounter with such natural phenomena may have provided the incentive to reproduce these processes. Cave paintings reveal that honey was collected in the Mesolithic Period and possibly as early as the Palaeolithic Period (cf. CQ 2/2018) and it is indeed possible that the first mead was produced at about the same time. Soft, juicy fruits such as grapes and berries would also have been suitable for early fermentation experiments. Since when cereals were used to make beer-like beverages has been the subject of lively debate since the 1950s. This question is also Humans have experimented with countless psychoactive substances during the past millennia. Amongst these, alcohol – or to be more precise, ethanol – with its imme-diately noticeable, pleasant effects, such as cheerfulness, the enhanced ability to com-municate and interact with others and the reduction of inhibitions and anxiety, is by far the most popular and widely used agent. The production of alcoholic beverages from locally available sources of sugar is an al-most universal phenomenon, which can be encountered in human societies of every lev-el of complexity. Since ancient times, these beverages have played an important role in defining the social status of group members and in the enactment of rituals that mark major life events.The human preference for alcohol appears to be rooted deep in our prehistory. The ques-tion of when and in what form humans first began to ingest alcohol has been the subject of in-depth medical research with the aim of reaching a better understanding of the mechanisms leading to addiction and other alcohol-induced illnesses. Within this con-text, the biologist Robert Dudley developed the hypothesis that alcoholism might be an “evolutionary hangover”. He suggested that for about 40 million years the diet of frugivo-rous anthropoids might have been character-ised by the regular ingestion of low levels of ethanol from fermenting fruit. Possibly those primates who developed the ability to local-ise fruit crops by following the scent of etha-nol and who could metabolise the calories it contained enjoyed a selective advantage. The resulting strong attraction to the smell and taste of ethanol might have been retained by humans despite a significant increase in dietary diversity and the easy availability of beverages with a high ethanol content due to the development of human-directed fermen-tation. The excessive consumption of ethanol would then represent a “maladaptive co-op-tion of ancestrally advantageous behaviours”. (Addiction, 2002, 381-388).Some aspects of Dudley’s controversial hy-pothesis recently received support from the field of palaeogenetics. In order to deter-mine since when our ancestors were able to metabolise ethanol, the team headed by Matthew A. Carrigan “resurrected ances-tral ADH4 (alcohol dehydrogenase class 4) enzymes from various points in the ca. 70 million years of primate evolution” and test-ed them for their ability to oxydise ethanol. Remarkably, nearly all the ADH4 were inac-tive against ethanol. The situation, however, changed dramatically in the time of the last Neolithic rice wine after a find in Jiahu with grapes (left) and hawthorn berries (middle) as well as mead (right). Four silex tools, from left to right: A POINT. H. 13.5 cm. France, Middle Palaeolithic, Magdalenian, ca. 120,000-40,000 B.P. CHF 1,800. A KNIFE OR A SICKLE BLADE. L. 18.2 cm. North-East Germany, Late Neolithic, ca. 3500-2200 B.C. CHF 2,500. A SICKLE BLADE. L. 14 cm. Europe, Late Neolithic, ca. 4400-2200 B.C. CHF 2,900. A LEAF POINT. L. 8.3 cm. France, Late Neolithic, ca. 3000-2200 B.C. CHF 1,200CQ15Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2018al. assume that to enable the yeast to exploit the starch contained in the rice, it was first saccharified either by mastication or malt-ing. (PNAS, 2004, 17593-17598).linked with the controversy over whether it was the desire for bread or for beer that was the driving force behind the incipient domes-tication of cereals in the Epipalaeolithic Peri-od in the Near East. These issues were recently addressed by Hayden et al. in an archaeolog-ical assessment of brewing technology in the Natufian culture (ca. 12,000-9500 B.C.). On the basis of ethnographic observations, the researchers surmised that the Natufian proto- brewers would have been able to discover the three steps necessary for beer production by means of “natural variations or accidents in food preparation and consumption”. These steps are firstly the germination of the grain to produce the enzymes that transform starch into sugar, secondly the process of mashing in which the crushed grain is mixed with wa-ter and heated in order to create optimum conditions for saccharification, and thirdly the inoculation with the yeasts that carry out the fermentation. “Mortars" made of stone or chiselled into the bedrock were recovered at numerous Natufian sites. Hayden et al. argue that particularly the long, narrow types could have conceivably been used in brewing. The cereals would first have been pounded in the “mortars”. Then the brewers would have add-ed water and heated it to the required tem-perature by adding hot stones. The yeasts necessary for fermentation might have been air-borne or introduced either from previ-ous batches of beer or from other foods, for example acorns, that had been processed in these “mortars”.Having evaluated cereal finds made in Epi-palaeolithic and Pre-Pottery sites, Hayden et al. reached the conclusion that cereals constituted a minor element in Late Epipa-laeolithic diets. Against this background, it is all the more remarkable that “where cereals were not locally available, unusu-al efforts were expended by groups relying predominantly on hunting and gathering to obtain them from distant sources or to ex-pend considerable efforts to cultivate them mainly in predomesticated forms”. Hayden et al. therefore suggest that beer was a presti-gious luxury food that was consumed during feasts of a competitive nature and that the increased demand for brewed beer “was like-ly a major motivating factor for cultivating and domesticating cereals in the Near East.” They do, however, concede that similar ar-guments could be put forward for breadmak-ing. (Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory, 2013, 102-150).Evidence that Hayden and his team were cor-rect in assuming that the technical and social prerequisites for the production and con-sumption of beer were present in the Natufi-an culture was published in October 2018 by the research team led by Li Liu. Their analy-sis of starch granules from residues in three stone “mortars” from a Natufian burial site in Raqefet Cave in Israel revealed that the gran-ules showed various forms of damage indic-ative of the beer-making process. Thus, the oldest alcoholic beverage for which there is archaeological proof is a wheat/barley-based beer, which was brewed some 13,000 years ago and which predates the appearance of domesticated cereals in the Near East by sev-eral millennia. (Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2018, 783-793).Further evidence that cereals were used very early on to produce alcoholic beverages comes from the early Neolithic village Jia-hu in Henan Province in China. The chem-ical analysis of ancient organic substances absorbed into pottery jars dating from the 7th millennium B.C. performed by a research team directed by Patrick E. McGovern sug-gested that the vessels contained a beverage composed of rice, honey and a type of fruit. The chemical findings could in part be sub-stantiated by archaeological observations. The earliest finds of domesticated rice in northern China, for example, were also made in Jiahu. Furthermore, the seeds of grapes and Chinese hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifi-da) could be identified in the Neolithic levels of Jiahu. Both these fruits are rich in tartaric acid, the biomarker indicating the presence of a fruit component in the beverage. Al-though direct chemical evidence of alcohol was lacking due to its volatility and sus-ceptibility to biodegradation, fermentation of the mixed ingredients could be inferred because of the yeast contained in the honey and on the skins of the fruit. Once the juice had been exuded from the fruits or the honey diluted, the yeasts would inevitably have ini-tiated the fermentation process. McGovern et Neolithic Rice Wine after a Find in Jiahu (China)To malt the rice, soak 100 g of germinable rice in water overnight. Rinse well and then place the jar upside down in a sieve so that the excess water can drain off but the rice stays moist. Repeat twice a day until the roots are a few millimetres long (about two days). Dry the rice to stop ger-mination and crush in a mortar.To saccharify the rice, add 300 ml wa-ter and heat slowly until the mixture is too hot to touch with your fingers but is not yet simmering (ideally 50-75 °C). Af-ter about two hours it should taste fairly sweet and can be left to cool. Mix the rice water with 200 ml mead and 200-300 g crushed grapes or hawthorn berries. The fruits of the hawthorn species found in Europe are not as fleshy as those of the Chinese hawthorn, so it might be more appropriate to use cornelian cherries or sloes. Pour into a bottle taking care not to shut it tightly so that the carbon dioxide can escape. The mixture ferments power-fully and two of my batches did indeed explode. The rice wine can be drunk af-ter 1-2 weeks or stored for a longer period of time. Before serving, strain through a muslin cloth.MeadAfter harvesting the honey, soak the combs in water for 1-2 days. Strain the honey wa-ter through a sieve and pour into a bottle. As the fermentation process releases large amounts of carbon dioxide, to not close the bottle tightly as it may otherwise explode. The mead can be drunk young but storing it for a couple of months improves its flavour.Unfiltered rice wine with hawthorn berries (left) and grapes (right).CQ16Cahn’s Quarterly 3/2018HighlightMost art works must be studied and described in detail in order to be understood; only very few can be comprehended prima vista. The vase presented here is no exception. The main side (A) of this impressive pelike features the more intensely figural drawing of the two: On the left, a male couple interacts. The dominant role is played by a bearded man who embraces his younger, beardless partner in a “wrestling hold”, as it were. The latter does not attempt to fend him off, stands upright, his rather un-spectacular penis peeping out from among the many cloak folds at the centre of the compo-sition, signalising pleasure; hence the promi-nence accorded it by the painter. The cloaks of both men envelop large sections of their bod-ies, leaving little of their flesh exposed, even if the naked buttocks of the younger lover, rendered in fine contour, naturally could not be left out. A closer look reveals three pow-erful parallel lines that lead from the mature man to the youth, below the latter’s genitals. This must be, albeit slightly concealed, the phallus of the dominant figure, preparing to engage in intercrural lovemaking.On the right a disproportionately small young man crouches on the ground, leaning against a column with a heavy base. His reduced di-mensions evidently reflect the figure’s lesser symposium – a male affair but with wom-en present, this interior scene complement-ing the outdoor one on the other side of the vase. The musician plays a double flute. His instrument is thrusted towards the female dancer and seems to touch her upper body. The exceptionally long flute evidently serves as a metaphor for the penis. Its thrust is not directed towards the vagina – no, its target are the female breasts as the secondary sex-ual characteristic. The wild and shrill sounds of the flute, which in Ancient Greece were re-garded as "barbarian" – the myth of Marsyas is a case in point – spurs the musician’s playmate on. Although she is still complete-ly enveloped in her garment, the affected movements of her arms foretell the imminent striptease: this is ancient table-dancing par excellence.Nonetheless, both scenes ultimately appear somewhat “restrained”. They do not reveal the inevitable outcome of the entertainment but only allude to it. The sexual activities do not reach their consummation; everything re-mains suspended in innuendo. This was not always the case in the representational histo-ry of this subject matter. Just a few decades earlier, such images of licentious excesses at symposia – a carousal held by older men and younger boys, at which female playmates (hetaerae) were also present – were quite dif-ferent. Naked bodies dominated the picture and the intention of the depictions was to represent explicit sexual actions.But the times had changed in Athens by 500 B.C. The tyrants’ rule of the polis had come to an end, the first clear signs of democrati-sation were unmistakable, and isonomía, the equality of full citizens before the law, had become a political buzzword and principle.The old aristocratic ruling elite did not disap-pear, but it had to learn how to define itself afresh in the new social and political context. Thus, "visual communication" on the theme of courtship and carousal also changed. Dras-tic effects were tempered, and the painters preferred to play with allusions, things hid-den, minor details, and moderation.The oeuvre of the painter by now numbers some 130 vessels. Of these roughly one third are still in black-figure. Thus, he belongs to the generation of artists who experienced this period of radical artistic and political change – and inevitably mirrored it in their paintings. A RED-FIGURE PELIKE. H. 40 cm. Clay. Attributed to the Eucharides Painter (Workshop of Nikoxenos) by Herbert A. Cahn. First published: Münzen und Medaillen AG Basel, Kunstwerke der Antike, cat. Sonderliste R (Dec. 1977) 53, no. 50. BAPD no. 13607. Attic, ca. 490-480 B.C. Price on requestimportance. Likewise, the way in which he sits – frontally and with opened legs – tells us that he belongs to a lower level of society, the slave of the older suitor, with his master’s staff in hand. He seems to be sleeping, or at least dozing, resting his head in his left hand. Is this subtle irony in view of the excitement on his right? Or is he not even watching, his sense of shame rather serving as a place holder for the social criticism directed against the licentious-ness of the noblesse?Above, suspended from an imaginary wall, are a sponge, a strigil and an aryballos: ac-cessories of youthful athletic prowess, and as such charged with erotic implications.A further telling detail is the tree on the far left, which not only serves as a framing ele-ment, but is also a metaphor from the world of plants. It is completely overgrown and ensnared by ivy, just like the youth, who is caught in the overpowering embrace of his older lover. The tree and the abbreviated ar-chitecture indicate that the scene is located in an outside space, possible in a palaestra.Depicted on the less elaborately decorated side B is a typical moment of uninhibited companionship during a wine-lubricated Love Games Within and WithoutBy Martin FlasharNext >