John Piper C.H. (British, 1903-1992) Figures from a Cretan Seal signed 'John Piper' (lower left) oil on canvas 25.4 x 35.6 cm. (10 x 14 in.) Painted in 1954 Footnotes: Provenance Myfanwy Piper W.S. Mitchell, thence by descent Private Collection, U.K. Exhibited London, Portland Gallery, John Piper: Man and Nature, 26 September-18 October 2019 John Piper was introduced to ancient Minoan cylinder seals from Crete by his friend Victor Kenna, who was cataloguing them for the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. These cylinder seals, often made of precious stones, included subjects such as naturalistic portrayals of human beings and animals. In December 1954, Piper began to make sketches of the cast impressions of these seals in the display cases at the Ashmolean. As David Fraser Jenkins has commented, 'They are readily identifiable, but with a lot more movement and flow than might be expected. It is likely that these spindly, busily active figures also reminded Piper of the Hesiod etchings of Braque, which were only then becoming known, despite having been made in 1932. His enthusiasm for these Cretan seals resembled his earlier love for Anglo-Saxon fonts' (David Fraser Jenkins and Hugh Fowler-Wright, The Art of John Piper, Unicorn Press, 2015, p.279). This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: AR AR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com