A TERRACOTTA PROTOME, GREECE, 5TH-4TH CENTURY... Lot n° 8

A TERRACOTTA PROTOME, GREECE, 5TH-4TH CENTURY B.C. the grey patina with traces of white paint, in the form of a female head in relief, wearing flared diadem decorated with repeated palmettes, her waving hair parted at the centre, voluminous regular folds on either side, mounted, 18cm high Provenance: Private collection, London. Acquired Spink and Son, London, 15 December 1952. The Spink invoice states that this object came from the collection of Sir Cecil Harcourt Smith. Sir Cecil Harcourt-Smith KCVO (1859–1944) was Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities at the British Museum (1904 to 1909), and then Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum (1909 to 1924).