Two Fragmentary Greek Antiquities, 5th/4th Century B.C.

comprising an Attic red-figured lekythos, circa 480-460 B.C., decorated with a striding figure of Artemis holding a torch and bow, and wearing a long chiton and leopard skin, a quiver on her back, palmettes on the vessel's shoulder, a meander band below, the body of the vessel scratched with a fragmentary Greek inscription reading ΛΕΚΥΘΟΣ ΤΙΜΑ[ΝΑΚ]ΤΟΣ ΑΝΤΙΜΕΝ ("l am the lekythos of Timanax son of Antim(enes)"), and a terracotta head of a goddess moulded in relief, Magna Graecia, 4th Century B.C., her centrally-parted hair surmounted by a stephane, and wearing an acorn-shaped earring.

John Rowland Fothergill (1876 - 1957), Warwickshire
by inheritance to his half-brother Reginald Hannay Fothergill (1879 - 1971), Westmorland
by descent to the present owner

Lekythos: what is left is repaired from about 5 pieces, back quite fragmentary, and with painted plaster fill, shoulder very dirty. Three loose fragments are being kept separately, one joining in back and engraved with letters epsilon and nu, the other two with plain reserved border and not necessarily belonging to vessel. Terracotta head: fragmentary as shown, break across proper left side of face appears to be fresh.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The name Timanax, restituted here in the genitive form, is well attested in Classical Athens by fifteen ostraka (F. Willemsen and S. Brenne, Athenische Mitteilungen, vol. 106, 1991, p. 155).

John Rowland Fothergill was a close friend of Oscar Wilde’s, both before and after Wilde’s prison sentence, and an associate of the artist William Rothenstein, with whom he opened the Carfax Gallery in 1898. The same year Wilde’s friend Robbie Ross, the art dealer and critic, introduced Fothergill to Edward Perry Warren, the American art collector who donated many of his antiquities to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Fothergill became Warren’s personal secretary for a time and a member of the Lewes House brotherhood (see Osbert Burdett and E.H. Goddard, Edward Perry Warren, The Biography of a Connoisseur, 1941, containing several mentions of Fothergill). Before WWI he lived in Italy, where he met Paul Hartwig and Wolfgang Helbig, two of the most prominent classical archaeologists of their time, both of them involved in collecting and trading classical. Antiquities. In later life Fothergill became an innkeeper, first in Thame, then in Ascot, and finally in Market Harborough. He was renowned as a chef and authored several books on cooking, as well as gardening.