By Carter B. Horsley

This antiquities auction at Christie's December 10, 2004 is highlighted by many small works of great charm, a Roman ship's prow ornament, an alabaster Mesopatamiam worshipper, a Syro-Palestininan pillar idol, a Roman gilt bronze bust of Hercules, and a stunning Roman parcel gilt silver bowl.

Perhaps the most adorable object is Lot 324, a Roman amber lion that measures only 2 3/4 inches long. Dated circa 1st Century B.C./1st Century A.D., it is one of numerous works in this auction that come from the famous Leo Mildenberg Collection of animals in ancient art. "Finely sculpted," the catalogue entry for this lot, maintained, "depicted reclining with his head turned to the left, the tail curling under the right hind leg and up over the flank, the ribs subtly indicated, the mane a mass of wavy locks, the eys and open mouth drilled, the underside recessed, with a rectangular opening flanged on three sides to receive a sliding lid." The lot has a conservative estimate of $3,000 to $5,000. It sold for $5,736 including the buyer's premium as do all the results mentioned in this article.

Another work of great charm from the Mildenberg collection is lot 304, a Greek bronze horse, Geometric Period, circa 740-720 B.C. The catalogue notes that the 2 5/16-inch long sculpture is "related to similar bronzes from a workshop at Olympia under Lakonian influence. It has a modest estimate of $5,000 to $7,000. It sold for $4,780.

Two more fine works from the Mildenberg Collection are Lots 332 and 333. The former is an Anatolian bronze donkey, circa 7th Century B.C. It is 3 5/8 inches long and has a modest estimate of $1,500 to $2,000. It sold for $2,629. The latter is a Syrian bronze stag, circa 8th-7th Century B.C. It is 2 7/8 inches long and also has a conservative estimate of $1,500 to $2,000. It sold for $2,639.

Other excellent works from the same collection are Lot 316, a Greek bronze stallion, South Italian, Hellenistic Period, circa 3rd Century B.C., and Lot 315, a Greek gilt terracotta appliqué, Tarentine, Classical Period, circa 450-425 B.C. Lot 316 is 2 5/8 inches long and has a conservative estimate of $1,200 to $1,800. It sold for $3,824. Lot 315, which depicts a panther, is 4 1/2 inches long and has an estimate of $2,000 to $3,000. It sold for $14,340.

One of the auction's more unusual works is Lot 390, a Syro-Palestinian basalt pillar idol, Chalcolithic Period, circa 4th Millennium B.C. The 16-inch-high work's top surface is recessed at the center and the catalogue stated that this was "perhaps to serve as an altar." The work has a conservative estimate of $15,000 to $20,000. It sold for $14,390.

Lot 397 is a Western Central Asian composite stone female figure that is dated Late 3rd-Early 2nd Millennium B.C. The 5-inch-high figure has a separately made head in white limestone placed atop the body sculpted in reddish-gray steatite or chlorite. The figure is seated and wears a tufted sheepskin garment and the catalogue notes that "the now-missing arms originally inset on the lap." "These enigmatic composite figures," the catalogue entry continued, "have traditionally been associated with ancient Afghanistan...but none have actually been found there....Of the known excavated figures, eleven have been found in southeastern Turkmenistan, and two in Pakistan." The lot has a modest estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $33,460.

One of the highlights of the auction is Lot 391, a fine Mesopatamian, Syrian, alabaster worshipper that is 5 1/4 inches high. It is dated Early Dynastic Period, circa 2900-2550 B.C. It has an estimate of $35,000 to $45,000. It sold for $95,600.

Lot 393 is a handsome Bactrian white stone idol, circa 3rd Millennium B.C., that is 4 3/4 inches high and has a modest estimate of $15,000 to $20,000. It sold for $41,825.

Lot 417 is a very fine South Arabian alabaster libation table that is 10 7/8 inches long and has a row of five joined ibexes projecting from one end. The table is dated circa 5th-3rd Century B.C., and has a modest estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. It sold for $10,755.

Lot 418 is a fine South Arabian bronze figure of a man, circa 3rd-2nd Century B.C. The 11 3/8-inch-high figure is wearing a v-neck sheath with a belted bell-shapred skirt and the front of garment is adorned with dedicatory inscriptions. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It failed to sell.

The auction has several very nice Scythian works. Lot 424, for example, is a bronze attachment, perhaps for a bridle, that is an openwork plaque with a stylized head of a predator and the plaque is center with a fully-modelled head of stag with antlers in high relief as well as a hunter with bow and arrow in pursuit. The lot is 6 inches long and is dated circa 4th Century B.C. It has a modest estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It failed to sell. Another Scythian work is Lot 425, two bronze attachments of stylized stages with elaborate layered antlers. The attachments are dated circa 4th Century B.C., and have an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It failed to sell.

One of the more fascinating and wonderful works in the auction is Lot 429, a Late Vinca clay female bust, circa 5th Millennium B.C. The 3 1/4-inch high bust has a triangular head with a pointed chin and long narrow nose and decorative elements that are deeply incised and inlaid with white paste. It has a modest estimate of $5,000 to $7,000. It sold for $4,780.

Lot 559 is an excellent headless Roman marble sculpture of Venus, circa 1st Century A.D. The sculpture has a very graceful pose and very beautiful modeling of her drapery. It is 65 1/4 inches high and has an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. It sold for $197,900.

Lot 553 is a very nice Roman bronze figure of a reveler, circa 1st Century A.D. The figure has his arms raised with the palms open to hold a missing attribute, possibly a large vessel or basket. It is 7 5/8 inches high and has an estimate of $7,000 to $8,000. It sold for $4,780.

Lot 606 is an impressive Roman marble statue of Sylvanus, circa Late 2nd Century A.D. The 27 1/8-inch-high statue has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $265,100.

Lot 546 is a very striking Roman bronze ship's prow ornament with a bust of Pelagia projected from the end of an upward-tapering hexagonal shaft. The lot, which 11 1/2 inches long and is dated circa 1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D., has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $53,775.

Lot 560 is a very nice and interesting Roman bronze attachment that depicts Pan butting heads with a goat on the handle with a mask of Pan below. The piece is 5 1/2 inches high and is dated circa 1st Century A.D. It has an estimate of $12,000 to $18,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 561 is a very nice Roman marble statue of Pan that is dated circa 1st Century A.D. It is headless and only has fragments of Pan's legs and is 12 7/8 inches high but is very animated as Pan is shown in a running position. It has an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $9,560.

Lot 595 is a superb Roman gilt bronze bust of Hercules, circa 2nd Century A.D. It is 5 5/8 inches high and has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $28,680.

Lot 550 is a fabulous Roman parcel gilt silver skyphos decorated with a Nilotic scene that is dated circa late 1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D. The bowl is only 4 1/4 inches high but has remarkably stylized and very fine modeling that has the fluid and exaggerated style of a Magnasco painting.

One side of the bowl is decorated with a scene of a "grotesque man teasing a crocodile, the hunched man with a protruding spine and enlarged genitalia, depicted nude but for a conical cap and a mantle belted around his waist. The other side is decorated, according to the catalogue entry, with "a grotesque man approaching a hippopotamus, the gangly nude figure standing on his left leg, the right leg raised high and bent acutely, lifting an askos in his left hand, and carrying a basket in his lowered right hand, a crane menacing him from behind, the hippopoatomus with its head lowered, its mouth open revealing teeth." "Both the Greeks, in the period after Alexander the Great, and the Romans, wee fascinated by Egypt and created a host of art works decorated with scenes ostensibly based on Egyptian themes but rendered in a purely Classical style. Perhaps the most famous of these is the great Nilotic mosaic of Palestrina of the late 1st Century B.C., which is thought to be the work of Alexandrian artists under Roman patronage. The skyphos shares the Nilotic landscape with the Palestrina mosaic, complete with hippopotomi, crocodiles and a rustic hunt. The meaning the interaction of the grotesque figures with the hippopotamus and crocodile is unclear. It may be that the scenes are simply a humorous view of exotic Egypt. It is also possible they have some symbolic meaning, now lost, or that they are perjorative caricatures of Egyptian pharaohs."

The lot has an estimate of $600,000 to $800,000. It sold for $623,500.

Lot 605 is a very fine Roman bronze incense utensil that is 11 3/4 inches long. Dated circa 2nd-3rd Century A.D., its shaft has a draped female figure, perhaps Europa, alongside a bull. It has an estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 610, a "monumental" Roman bronze draped woman, circa Late 2nd-Early 3rd Century A.D., has an ambitious estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. The headless work is 67 1/8 inches high. It failed to sell.