By Carter B. Horsley

The December 6, 2006 Antiquities auction at Sotheby's is highlighted by a good selection of Egyptian and Roman art including a fine block statue of a man, very good Egyptian statues of Sobek, the crocodile-headed god, and Hathor, the cow-headed goddess, a wonderful Roman bronze sculpture of a foot, and an excellent Roman head of Zeus.

Lot 70 is a fine Egyptian serpentine block statue of a seated man and the sacred baboon of Thoth that is dated to the 26th/30th Dynasty, 664-342 B.C. The 13-inch-high sculpture comes from the Frits Phillips Collection in Eindhoven. Frederick "Frits" Phillips died in 2005 and was the son of Anton Phillips (1878-1951), a co-founder with his brother Gerard of the Royal Phillips Electronics N.V., which today is Phillips Electronics N.V. Anton Phillips married Anna de Jongh, the daughter of an important Rotterdam industrialist, and their art collection included not only Egyptian works of art, such as this lot, but also old master paintings and furniture. Frits Phillips expanded his parent's art collection and during the occupatation of the Netherlands by the Nazis he prevented, according to the catalogue, the deportation of several hundred Jewish workers by convincing the occupying forces they were indispensable to the production process of Phillips. The majority of the Frits Phillips collection will be sold by Sotheby's at the Voluon in Eindhoven December 4 and 5, 2006.

The lot has an estimate of $350,000 to $450,000. It sold for $856,000 including the buyer's premium as do all the results mentioned in this article. The buyer was a European private collector. The sale was extremely successful with most lots in all categories selling for considerably above their pre-sale high estimates and in many cases at multiples of those estimates. Of the 176 lots offered, 96 percent sold. Richard M. Keresey, worldwide director of Sotheby's Antiquities Department, said that the sale totalled $5.7 million, "far surpassing the high estimate of $3.1 million," adding that "Buyers were clearly willing to pay for works of high quality with illustrious provenances, as so many of the objects in this sale had."

Lot 72 is a nice Egyptian basalt statue of a man holding a naos with a standing figure of Osiris. The statue is 11 7/16 inches high and is dated late 26th/27th Dynasty, circa 500-404 B.C. The work was once in the collection of Alice Tully. It has an estimate of $60,000 to $90,000. It sold for $144,000.

Lot 88 is an impressive and very fine Egyptian bronze statue of the figure of Nefertum. It is dated to the 21st/22nd Dynasty, 1080-746 B.C., and is 14 5/8 inches high. Nefertum was the son of Ptah and he holds the khepresh saer inhis right hand and has a braided beard with gold or electrum remained, and his headdress is composed of an open lotus flower flanked by menats and surmounted by plumes and an eye of Horus plague in front. His eyes have traces of silver overlay. The lot has a modest estimte of $60,000 to $90,000. It sold for $168,000.

Lot 90 is an excellent Egyptian bronze figure of Sobek that is 10 1/8 inches high. It is dated to the 26th Dynasty, 664-525 B.C. The crocodile-headed deity at one time held a scepter in his left hand and an ankh in his right hand. The catalogue notes that related examples are in the Louvre and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek in Copenhagen. The lot has a modest estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $60,000.

Another excellent Egyptian bronze statue is Lot 89, a figure of Hathor, the cow-headed goddess, Late Period, 716-30 B.C. It is 9 3/8 inches high and has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $102,000.

Lot 69 is a superb Egyptian limestone statue of a lady that is 8 1/4 inches high and is dated to the 18th Dynasty, Period of Amenhotep III/Horemhab, 1390-1292 B.C. She is striding and holds a menat necklace and wears a diaphonous pleated gown and a long full wig parted in the center and bound in a diadem with ltus flower. She has a modest estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. This lot was withdrawn.

Lot 90 is a very impressive Egyptian limestone lion that is very imposing despite its less than perfect condition. The 37-inch long sculpture condition is quite fragile but nonetheless is very regal and has the added charm of having his tail wrap about the base. It is dated to the Ptolemaic Period, 30th Dynasty, 380-342 B.C. The catalogue notes other examples of this lion, probably inspired by the famous monumental granite lions of Nectanebo I in the Vatican. The lot has a very modest estimate of $3,000 to $5,000. It sold for $32,400.

Lot 95 is a lovely Egyptian wood mummy mask that is dated to the 26th Dynasty, 664-525 B.C. It is 18 3/4 inches high. The eyes and eyebrows are inlaid with bronze, shell and translucent cobalt-blue glass that the catalogue notes are "probably a later addition" but of the same period. The lot was auctioned at Sotheby's December 13, 1991 when it had an estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. This auction the lot has a modest estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. It sold for $36,000.

The auction has several Egyptian works of art that were formerly in the collection of Edward Roger Pratt (1789-1863) of Ryston Hall, Norfolk, England. Lot 75 is an impressive black steatite ushabti of Amenemhat, late 18th/early 19th Dynasty, circa 1320-1250 B.C. It is 6 1/2 inches high and is notable for the very fine detailing of the duble wig of zigzag and echeloned curls. It has a modest estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. It sold for $16,800.

Another excellent piece from the Pratt collectionis Lot 85, an excellent bronze statue of Ptah, 26th/30th Dynasty, 664-342 B.C. It is 5 1/3 inches high and has very fine detailing of the broad beaded collar, striated beard and bracelets. It has a modest estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. It sold for $33,000.

Lot 79, also from the Pratt collection, is a pale green faience ushabti of Pakhadisu that is 7 7/8 inches high. It is dated to the 30th Dynasty, 380-243 B.C., and is notable for its fine detailing and the fact that the lines of inscription are slightly angled. It has an estimate of $7,000 to $10,000. It sold for $21,600.

Lot 82 is a good bronze Egyptian statue of Osiris that is deated to the 26th/30th Dynasty, 663-342 B.C. It is 6 7/16 inches high and is very nice despite some patina condition problems. It has an estimate of $6,000 to $9,000. It sold for $6,600.

Lot 66 is a striking and finely detailed Egyptian indurated limestone canopic jar lid of a man wearing a striated wig with a striated beard. The lid is dated to the 12th Dynasty, 1938-1640 B.C., and is 6 1/2 inches high. It has a modest estimate of $5,000 to $8,000. It sold for $57,000.

Lot 64 is a very impressive Roman Imperial bronze foot from a monumental statue, circa late 2nd/early 3rd Century A.D. It is 13 inches high and the catalogue notes that the statue was probably an emperor. The foot was consigned by the Al Held Foundation of Boiceville, New York. It has a modest estimate of $15,000 to $25,000. It sold for $48,000.

Another excellent work that was formerly owned by Al Held, the artist who died in 2005, is Lot 42, a very charming Hellenistic terracotta figure of a boy, circa 3rd Century B.C. The figure is 17 7/8 inches high and has a modest estimate of $12,000 to $18,000. It sold for $25,200.

Lot 40 is a very beautiful Roman marble head of a goddess, circa 1st Century A.D. It is 13 inches high and has a modest estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $22,800.

Another fine marble head, this one depicting Zeus, is Lot 36, Roman Imperial, circa 1st Century A.D. It is 13 1.2 inches high and has an estimate of $60,000 to $90,000. It sold for $78,000.

Lot 35 is a striking Hellenistic marble head of a goddess, circa late 2nd/early 1st Century B.C. It is 17 1/2 inches high and the catalogue notes that it comes from a monumental figure and that its back is hollowed out "and probably once completed in a different material," adding that "the present head was designed to fit, together with other extremities, into the body of a ery large draped cult statue made of a different material, either of a coarser stype of stone, or of sheet bronze oever a wooden structure. It has an estimate of $125,000 to $175,000. It sold for $486,400 to the Michael C. Carlos Museum in Atlanta.

Lot 54 is a haunting Roman Imperial marble bust of a man, late 1st Century B.C./1st Century A.D. It is 13 3/4 inches high and was once in the collection of David Sylvester. It has an estimate of $25,000 to $35,000. It sold for $45,000.

Lot 55 is an imposing marble statue of a woman that is Roman Imperial, Flavian, late 1st Century A.D. The work is 78 inches high and is notable for her coiffure of drilled curls. It was once in the collection of Frederick E. Guest and Amy Phipps guest of Palm Beach. It has an estimate of $60,000 to $90,000. It sold for $114,000.

Lot 44 is a good Gallo-Roman bronze of Rosmerta or Maia, circa 2nd Century A.D. It is 6 1/16 inches high. Rosmerta was the consort of Esus/Hermes, and the wings emerging from her hair are "a very rare feature on representations of female deities," according to thecatalogue. The lot has a modest estimte of $3,000 to $5,000. It sold for $8,400.

Lot 45 is a wonderful Roman bronze figure of a drunken Herakles, circa 1st Century A.D. It is 4 3/16 inches high. The figure is missing its right foot and a club that would have been held in its right hand. It has a modest estimate of $2,000 to $3,000. It sold for $7,800.

Another very animated work and one of the most delightful works in the auction is also one of the smallest. Lot 116 is a Roman bronze figure of a satyr dancing and playing with the krotala over his head. It is dated to the 1st Century A.D. It has a modest estimate of $1,200 to $1,800. It sold for $6,600.

Lot 126 is a wonderful Roman marble torso of Artemis that has been highly abraded but has a very fine and dynamic pose and some nice detailing. It is dated circa 1st Century A.D., and is 21 inches high. It's not as fine,of course, as Winged Victory in the Louvre, but for a studio apartment it's fine. It has a very modest estimate of $4,000 to $6,000. It sold for $24,000.