Sale
2364
Lot
88, Reclining female figure, marble, Cycladic, name-piece of the
Schuster Master, Cycladic II, circa 2400 B.C., 11 /2 inches high
By Carter B. Horsley
This December 9,
2010 Antiquities auction at Christie's is highlighted by a sensational
Cycladic marble figure of a reclining woman by the Schuster Master, a
very fine Kiliyan "stargazer" marble statuette, some
spectacular marble headless statues of women in very
beautifully draped clothes, some excellent Greek Hellenistic terracotta
statues and vases, and a wonderful Bactrian figure of a woman in a
voluminous dress.
Lot 88, the Cycladic marble figure by the Schuster Master, is 11 1/2
inches high and is from the Cycladic II Period, circa 2400 B.C.
It was acquired by Madame Marion Schuster of Lausanne before
1965 and subsequently was with Robin Symes in London, a private
collection in the United States, Phoenix Ancient Art in Geneva and a
New York private collection. There are only twelve works
attributed to the Schuster Master and this is the only complete figure
known to have survived. It has an estimate of $3,000,000 to
$5,000,000. It sold for $16,882,500 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.
Many
lots exceeded their high estimates in this sale in which 76.8 percent
of the 201 offered lots sold for a total of $33,185,125.
G. Max Bernheimer, International Department Head of Antiquities
and Molly Morse Limmer, Head of Department, said after the sale that “Christie's Antiquities Department made history once again, achieving $34
million, the highest total for an Antiquities sale at Christie’s and selling the
exceptional Cycladic marble reclining female figure for an amazing $16.8
million, a world auction record for a Cycladic marble figure and the highest
price achieved for an ancient work of art ever sold at Christie’s."
" There was
tremendous activity in the packed saleroom and on the telephones for astounding
works, which achieved stupendous prices especially for Roman marble sculptures
from the Collection of Max Palevsky and Egyptian bronzes. The Ancient Jewelry
sale held exclusively and annually at Christie's New York was highlighted by
three Roman gold-mounted sardonyx cameos, which sold for $146,500," they added.
Lot 43,
Kiliya idol, marble, Anatolian, Chalcolithic Period, circa 3300-2500
B.C., 4 3/4 inches high
The abstract qualities of the
Cycladic figures greatly influenced many modern artists including
Brancusi and Modigliani, but they were already made almost a
thousand years after Kiliya marble idols from Anatolia in the
Chalcolithic Period, circa 3300-2500 B.C. Lot 43 is one such
figure. It is only 4 3/4 inches high but it is not only
abstract but also quite poetic. It is of a type known as
"stargazer." Kiliya is a site near Gallipoli in Turkey and
these idols were only discovered in the early 20th Century.
This lot has a very modest estimate of $50,000 to $80,000. It sold for $134,500.
Lot
45, Female figure, composite stone, Bactria-Margiana, circa Late
3rd-Early 2nd Millennium B.C., 7 1/4 inches high, left; Lot 44, head of
a male worshipper, gypsum, Mesopotomian, Syria, Early Dynastic III,
circa 2550-2250 B.C., 6 5/8 inches high, right
Lot 45 is a fabulous Bactrian
female figure with a huge pleated dress. It comes from
Bactria-Margiana and is dated Late 3rd-Early 2nd Millennium B.C.
It is 7 1/4 inches high. The "shelf" at the west was for the
now missing, separately made forearms. The dress, which is
similar to some on some Sumerian figures, is made of chlorite and the
face is white limestone. There is a closely related work in
the Louvre, according to the catalogue. The lot has a modest
estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. It sold for $182,500. Lot 44, head of a male
worshipper, Mesopotamian, Syria, Dynastic III, circa 2500-2250 B.C.
It is 6 5/8 inches high and has an estimate of $80,000 to
$120,000. It sold for $80,500.
Lot
51, idol, bronze, Anatolian, circa 2nd Millennium B.C., 6 11/16 inches
high, left; Lot 50, Male figure, bronze, North Syrian, Middle Bronze
Age, circa Early 2nd Millennium B.C., 6 3/8 inches high, right
Lot 51 is a very abstract
bronze Anatolian idol, circa 2nd Millennium B.C. It is 6
11/16 inches high and was once in the John Kluge Collection.
It has a modest estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. It sold for $12,500. Lot
50 is a North Syrian bronze male figure from the Middle Bronze Age,
circa Early 2nd Millenium B.C. It is 6 3/8 inches high.
It was once in the collection of Marion Schuster of Lausanne,
who also owned the Cycladic figure in this auction. It has an
estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. It failed to sell. Both lots were once in the John
Kluge Collection.
Lot
148, Draped female herm, marble, Roman, circa 1st-2nd Century A. D., 57
inches high, left; Lot 151, Athena, marble, Roman, circa 1st-2nd
Century A.D., 41 1/2 inches high, right
Many
of the finest works in the auction are property of the Collection of
Max Palevsky. Mr. Palevsky was born in 1924 and founded
Scientific Data Systems that was eventually sold to Xerox from which he
retired as a director in 1972. Mr. Palevsky was chairman of
Rolling Stone magazine, which he rescued financially, and he also was a
major collector of the Arts and Crafts movement and Richard Lindner.
Lot 148 is perhaps the best Palevsky piece. It is a highly
stylized draped female herm that is missing its head. It is
Roman, circa 1st-2nd Century A.D. and 57 inches high. It has
a modest estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $962,500.
The catalogue provides the following commentary:
"The herm as a sculpture type made its appearance in Greece
at the end of the 6th Century B.. Essentially a rectangular
stele topped with the head of the god Hermes, usually with male
genitalia in relief on the front of the shaft, herms were erected on
streets and crossroads The Athenian tryant Hipparchos is nown
to have erected 150 herms throughout Attica. The form was
adapted in the Hellenistic period when theheadof the god waas replaced
by famous individuals, such as philosophers and statesmen.
The type continued to be oppular withthe Romans.
Draped herms, espeially female, are comparatively rare.
Four drapped female herns, now in the Palazzo dei
Conservatori in Rome, perhaps once served as caryatids."
This lot was once with Robin Symes in London.
Lot 151, another Palevsky piece, is the cover illustration of the
catalogue and is Roman marble statue of Athena that is now missing its
head. It dates circa 1st-2nd Century A.D. and is 41 1/2
inches high. It has a modest estimate of $200,000 to
$300,000. It sold for $626,500. It was with Henri A. Kamer Galerie in New York in
1970. The bold scalloping of her upper, highly textured garment is in
marked contrast to the strong verticality of her lower garment but the
sculpture's right knee is an amazingly subtle departure from the
formality of the work and makes the missing head and arms pretty much
irrelevant, at least for some observers.
Lot 150, head
of Aphrodite, marble, Roman, circa 1st Century-2nd Century A.D., 16
inches high
A third major
work from the Palevsky collection is Lot 150, a Roman marble head of
Aphrodite, circa 1st Century-2nd Century A.D. It is 16 inches
high and is in fine condition apart from her broken nose.
It was once with Robin Symes in London in 1974. It
has an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. It sold for $410,500.
Lot 175, Head of Hercules, Roman, marble, Flavian Period, circa 69-98 A.D., 14 1/2 inches highLot
175 is a great over-life-sized marble head of Hercules, Roman, Flavian
Period, circa 69-98 A.D. It is 14 1/2 inches high. It has a
very modest estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It sold for $530,500.
Lot
164, Female dancer, marble, Roman, circa 1st Century A.D., 27 1/2
inches high
As stunning as the two
Palevsky columnar statues of incredibly draped females, Lot 164 reminds
us that a hint of animation and a bared breast are hard to beat.
This Roman marble statue of a female dancer is circa 1st
Century A.D. It is 27 1/2 inches high and headless and
armless but she sure has rhythm. It has a modest estimate of
$150,000 to $250,000. It sold for $182,500.
Lot 186,
Venus with Eros riding a dolphin, marble, Roman, circa 2nd Century
A.D., 53 1/2 inches high
Lot 186, Venus, marble,
Roman, circa 2nd Century A.D., 53 1/2 inches high.. This work
was formerly in the John Kluge Collection. At her side is
Eros riding a dolphin. It has an estimate of
$200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $242,500.
Lot 181,
Draped woman, marble, Roman, circa 1st Century A.D., 71 inches high
Lot
181 is a very fine Roman marble statue of a draped woman circa 1st
Century A.D. It is 71 inches high but is missing its head.
This type of statue is nown as the "large Herculaneum woman"
based on three marble statues found by workers digging a well in
Resina,Italy in 1711, an excavation that would lead to the discovery of
Herculaneum. Two of those statues may have been based on
Greek originals of the 4th Century B.C. depicting Demeter and Kore.
The lot has an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $224,500.
Lot
193, Togatus, bronze, Roman, circa mid-2nd-mid-3rd Century A.D., 50 1/4
inches high, left, side view, right
Lot
193 is a very fine Roman bronze togatus, circa mid-2nd-mid-3rd Century
A.D. It is headless and 50 1/4 inches high. The
figure's right hand holds a three-pronged object that may be stalks of
grain or a hankerchief that was dropped to mark the start of a chariot
race, accoding to the catalogue entry. The statue was once in
the John Kluge collection. It has an estimate of $250,000 to
$350,000. It failed to sell.
Lot
132, two Greek terracotta Aphrodites, Hellenistic Period, circa 3rd
Century B.C., 13 3/4 inches tall, left
Lot
132 consists of two very graceful Greek terracotta figures of Aphrodite
from the Hellenistic Period, circa 3rd Century B.C. The
taller of the two works is 13 3/4 inches high and is leaning on a
column, nude but for a mantle draped across her right hip, and falling
behind her with her right arm raised toward her head, her left bent
above the column, on a socle. It was acquired in Paris,
likely at the Hotel Drouout between 1990 and 1994. The other,
slightly shorter piece shows Aphrodite untying her sandal with her
lowered right hand, her left arm extended out, wearing a high-belted
peplos. It was with Nina Borowski at the Galerie Anchaelogie
in Paris in 1991. The lot has a very modest estimate of
$1,500 to $2,000. It sold for $3,250.
Lot
127, Canosan polychrome pottery oinochoe, Apulia, circa early 3rd
Century B.C., 22 7/8 inches high, left; Lot 128, Canosan polychrome
pottery volute-krater, Apulia, circa early 3rd Century B.C., 15 1/2
inches high
Lots 127 and 128 are Canosan
polychrome pottery acquired in 1977 from a private collection in
Switzerland and both from Apulia circa early 3rd Century B.C.
Lot 127 is 22 7/8 inches high and it shows a goddess driving
a a very lively and colorful quadriga and the tall neck has a molded
figure of Eros with blue wings, one broken, and a ribbed handle with a
frontal head for the handle-plate. It has an estimate of
$50,000 to $80,000. It sold for $338,500. Lot 128 is 15 1/2 inches high and has a
representation of Dionysus in the center of its neck flanked by two
winged Erotes. The lot has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $194,500.
Lot 188, Head
of Dionysos, marble, Roman archaistic, circa 2nd Century A.D., 13
inches high, left; Lot 149, Portrait head of Socrates, Roman, marble, circa 1st Century A.D., 14 inches high, right
Lot 188 is a
very finely sculpted Roman archaistic marble head of Dionysos, circa
2nd Century A.D. It is 13 inches high and is split down the
back of the head. It has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $578,500.
Lot
188 is a fine Roman marble portrait head of Socrates, circa 1st Century
A. D. It is 14 inches high and is from the collection of Max
Palevsky. It has an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It sold for $458,500.
Lot 183,
Hercules, bronze, Roman, circa 2nd Century A.D., 9 3/8 inches high
Lot 183,
Hercules, bronze, Roman, circa 2nd Century A.D., 9 3/8 inches high.
The statuette is loosely based on a Greek original of the
mid-5th Century B.C. It has an estimate of $20,000
to $30,000. It sold for $25,000.
Lot
109, Winged helmet of the Chalcidan type, bronze, Greek, 15 15/16
inches high
Lot 109 is a
very impressive bronze Greek winged helmet of the Chalcidan type with
three plume holders. It is 15 15/16 inches high and has an
estimate of $50,000 to $80,000. It sold for $218,500.
Lot 29,
Falcon-headed horus, bronze, Egyptian, Ptolemaic Period, 304-30 B.C.,
26 1/4 inches high
Lot 29 is a
fabulous large Egyptian bronze sculpture of a
seated falcon-headed horus from the Ptolemaic Period, 304-30
B.C. It is 26 1/4 inches high. It has a modest
estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. It sold for $662,500.
Lot 18, bust
of Mahes, serpentine, Egyptian, Late New Kingdom to Third Intermediate
Period, Dynasty XX-XXII, 1196-712 B.C., 4 1/4 inches high
Lot 18, bust
of Mahes, serpentine, Egyptian, Late New Kingdom to Third
Intermediate Period, Dynasty XX-XXII, 1196-712 B.C., 4 1/4 inches high.
It has a modest estimate of $5,000 to $7,000. It sold for $25,000.
Lot 35,
statue of a queen, red granite, Egyptian, Late Ptolemaic Period, circa
1st Century B.C, 45 1/4 inches high
Lot 35 is an
exquisite Egyptian red granite statue of a queen, circa 1st Century
B.C. It is 45 1/4 inches high and in fabulous condition.
The catalogue notes that it is "probably Cleopatra VII,"
but also observes that it was "carved for an earlier queen,
likely Karomama, the wife of the Dynasty XXII Pharoah Osorkon II
(924-909 BC) and was recarved in the Ptolemaic Period with
the visage of a different queen." It has a modest estimate of
$200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $746,500.
Lot
15, standard finial depicted Wepwawet, a jackal, bronze, Egyptian, New
Kingdom to Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty XVII-XXV, 1550-712 B.C.,
10 1/4 inches high
Lot
15, standard finial depicted Wepwawet, a jackal, bronze, Egyptian, New
Kingdom to Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty XVII-XXV, 1550-712 B.C.
It is 10 1/4 inches high and has an estimate of
$200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $890,500.
Lot 22,
lion-headed goddess, bronze, Egyptian, Late Period, Dynasty XXVI-XXX,
664-343 B.C., 8 5/8 inches high, left; Lot 26, Ptah, bronze, Egyptian,
Late Period, Dynasty XXX, 380-343 B.C., 7 inches high, right
Lot 22 is a
very fine Egyptian bronze statue of a lion-headed goddess, either
Wadjet or Sekhmet, standing in front of an obelisk. It is
dated to the Late Period, Dynasty XXVI-XXX, 634-343 B.C. It
is 8 3/8 inches high and has a modest estimate of $25,000 to $35,000.
It sold for $86,500. It was once with Mathias Komor of New York in 1969 and is
property from the collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody.
Lot 26 is a fine Egyptian "black bronze" statue of Ptah from the Late
Period, Dynasty XXX, 380-343 B.C. It is 7 inches high.
It has an estimate of $35,000 to $45,000. It sold for $43,750.
Lot
196, bowl, silver, Roman, circa 3rd Century A.D., 6 1/2 inches in
diameter, left; Lot 139, mirror, Greek, parcel gilt silver, Hellenistic
Period, circa 2nd Century-1st Century A.D., 8 1/8 inches diameter
Lot 196 is an
impressive Roman silver bowl circa 3rd Century A.D. It is 6
1/2 inches in diameter. It shows at the bottom a sacrificial
scene at the base of a temple to Minerva. At the top Helios is driving
his quadriga. The lot has an estimate of $200,000 to
$300,000. It sold for $236,500. Almost as impressive is Lot 139, a Greek parcel
gilt silver mirror from the Hellenistic Period, circa 2nd Century-1st
Century A.D. It is 6 1/8 inches in diameter and has an
estimate of $70,000 to $90,000. It sold for $119,500.