AN ACHAEMENID SILVER PHIALE, 6TH - 4TH CENTURY BC The hammered shallow silver bowl decorated with a central boss encircled by eighteen radiating petals of alternating sizes below nine circles.

Provenance: Collection of Oliver Reginald Hoare (1945-2018), by repute acquired at Bonhams London, 27 November 1997. A prominent English art figure, described as arguably the most influential dealer in the Islamic world, Hoare joined Christie's London in 1967 where he was initially overseeing Russian art. After spotting some carpets left lying in a corridor and recognizing them as Persian, Hoare used them as the basis of a successful auction, which led to the launch of the Islamic Art Department, the first of its kind in a major auction house. He left Christie's in 1975 and opened Ahuan, a gallery in Pimlico, in partnership with David Sulzberger. In 1994, he negotiated the return of a Persian 16th-century manuscript to Iran, the Houghton Shahnameh (the most important illustrated manuscript ever created in Persia), in exchange for Willem de Kooning's Woman III which had been in Iran since the Islamic revolution. In the 1990s, he famously liaised with Diana, Princess of Wales.
Condition: Very good condition with only minor wear, small nicks, light scratches, minor dents. Fine, naturally grown, matte patina.

Weight: 116 g
Dimensions: Diameter 14.5 cm

Auction result comparison: Compare a related Achaemenid silver phiale, 16.2 cm diameter, dated circa 6^th century BC, at Christie’s New York in Antiquities on 11 December 2003, lot 120, sold for USD 11,950.