SILVER SPOON-PROBE
SILVER SPOON-PROBE
Hellenistic art, 4th–1st century B.C.
An instrument with a fluted handle; the upper end features a finely detailed horse’s head, and the lower end is fitted with a small spoon-like bowl.
This type of instrument was used to scoop up and handle small quantities of substances (ointments, cosmetics, perfumes, or pharmaceutical preparations).
Length: 24.5 cm
Weight: 37 g
Provenance: Private French collection of Madame V., prior to 1960
Bonhams, London, April 13, 2011: lot 112 (ill.)
Christian Levett Collection, Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins
Exhibitions: Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins (MACM), Mougins, France, June 2011–August 2023 (Inv. No. MMoCA719)
Caesar & Cleopatra, Historisches Museum Der Pfalz, Speyer, Germany, April 13–October 26, 2025
Bibliography: Bonhams, Antiquities including Property from the Collection of Sir Daniel Donahue, London, April 13, 2011, lot 112
C. Dauphin, *Animals in the Ancient World. The Levett Bestiary*, Levett Collection Series 2, France, 2014, p. 94
C. Dauphin, Animals in the Ancient World. The Levett Bestiary, Levett Collection Series 2, France, 2016, p. 6, fig. 2, and p. 83
A Hellenistic silver spoon probe with a horse’s head,
4th–1st century B.C.
SILVER SPOON-PROBE
Hellenistic art, 4th–1st century B.C.
An instrument with a fluted handle; the upper end features a finely detailed horse’s head, and the lower end is fitted with a small spoon-like bowl.
This type of instrument was used to scoop up and handle small quantities of substances (ointments, cosmetics, perfumes, or pharmaceutical preparations).
Length: 24.5 cm
Weight: 37 g
Provenance: Private French collection of Madame V., prior to 1960
Bonhams, London, April 13, 2011: lot 112 (ill.)
Christian Levett Collection, Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins
Exhibitions: Musée d’Art Classique de Mougins (MACM), Mougins, France, June 2011–August 2023 (Inv. No. MMoCA719)
Caesar & Cleopatra, Historisches Museum Der Pfalz, Speyer, Germany, April 13–October 26, 2025
Bibliography: Bonhams, Antiquities including Property from the Collection of Sir Daniel Donahue, London, April 13, 2011, lot 112
C. Dauphin, *Animals in the Ancient World. The Levett Bestiary*, Levett Collection Series 2, France, 2014, p. 94
C. Dauphin, Animals in the Ancient World. The Levett Bestiary, Levett Collection Series 2, France, 2016, p. 6, fig. 2, and p. 83
A Hellenistic silver spoon probe with a horse’s head,
4th–1st century B.C.
