The auction house suggests
that they may have faced each other across a pool at a villa, as
indicated in the rendering above.
The
pose of each girl has them "scooting" across the plinth with one leg
tucked beneath their bodies and the other extending beyong the edge of
the plinth. According to the catalogue, the statues as
"exceptional, not least because of their survival, but also for the
high uality of the workmanship and their incredible state of
preservation, including the inlays for the eyes, complete with lashes
for statue B." "The groups," it continued, "were hollow-cast
by
means of the last-wax method, and were pieced together from several
parts....They are unquestionably masterpieces of Roman art,
illustrating the pinnacle of bronze casting technology during
the early Imperial period."
The lot has a very modest estimate of $3,000,000 to $5,000,000.
It failed to
sell!
Lot 171,
marble bust portrait of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Roman, circa 170-180
A.D., 35 1/2 inches high
Lot
171 is an excellent Roman marble bust portrait of Emperor Marcus
Aurelius, circa 170-180 A.D. It is 35 1/2 inches high and in
excellent condition. The catalogue entry notes that the
"magnificent" bust of the "beloved" emperor "hails from the
renowned collection of classical sculpture forrm Marbury Hall,
Cheshire, England, formed by the Honorable James Hugh Smith Barry
during the Grand Tour in Rome circa 1776-1780. The lot, which
is
the cover illustration of the catalogue, has an estimate of $800,000 to
$1,200,000. It
sold for $2,042,500 including the buyer's premium as do all results
mentioned in this article.
Lot 168,
Portrait head of Antisthenes, Roman, marble, circa late 1st-Early 2nd
Century A.D., 18 inches high
Lot 168 is an impressive
Roman marble portrait head of Antisthemes, circa late 1st-Early 2nd
Century A.D. It is 18 inches high. Antisthenese was
a student of Socrates. It has an estimate of $100,000 to
$150,000. It
failed to sell.
Lot 170, Herm
of Hermes Propylaios, Roman, marble, 63 1/2 inches high, circa 2nd
Century A.D.
Lot
170 is a very impressive Roman marble herm of Hermes Propylaios, circa
2nd Century A.D. It is 63 1/ 2inches high. This is modeled as
afer the 5th Century B.C. work by Alkamenese that was seen at the
entrance to the Athenian Acropolis by the Roman writer
Pausanias during his travels of the mid 2nd Century AD. It
has an estimate of $120,000 to $180,000. It sold for $140,000.
Lot 79, Head
of Hercules, marble, Roman, circa late 1st Century-Early 2nd Century
A.D., 14 inches high
Lot
79 is an impressive Roman marble head of Hercules circa late 1st
Century-Early 2nd Century A.D. It is 14 inches high.
It is
based on the version by the 4th Century B.C. sculptor Lysippos.
It has an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $386,500.
Lot 169, head
of Mercury, Roman, circa 1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D., 8 1/8
inches high
Lot
169 is a fine Roman marble head of Mercury circa 1st Century B.C.-1st
Century A.D. It is 8 1/8 inches igh. It has an
estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It
sold for $134,500.
Lot 78, Head
of a Satyr, Roman, marble, 11 1/4 inches high
Lot
78 is an excellent Roman marble head of a satyr, circa 1st-2nd Century
A.D. It is 11 1/4 inches high. It has an estimate of $60,000 to
$80,000. It
sold for $338,500.
Lot 51, "Roman marble portrait of
a Diadoch," circa 1st Century A.D., 16 1/4 inches high, far right
Lot
51 is a handsome Roman marble bust of a Diadoch, circa 1st Century A.D.
It is 16 1/4 inches high. It was once in the
collection of
the Duke of Arenberg of Brusselsand the catalogue notes that the sudden
death of Alexanderthe Great in 323 B.C. led to a lengthy power struggle
among the Macedonian generals collectively known as the Diadochs, or
"successors." The lot has an estimate of $150,000 to
$250,000. It
sold for $182,500.
Lot 165,
Helmeted head, Roman, bronze, 4 1/4 inches high, circa 1st Centryy
B.C.-1st Century A.D.
Lot 165 is a very handsome
and imrpessive bronze Roman head of a helmeted man, circa 1st Century
B.C.-1st Century A.D. It is 4 1/4 inches hig. It
has an estimate of $15,000 to $20,000. It sold for $16,250.
Lot 97,
portrait busy of a woman, Roman, marble, circa late 3rd Century A.D.,
19 1/2 inches high
Lot
97 is a good Roman marble portrait bust of a woman from circa late 3rd
Century A.D. It is 19 1/2 inches high It has an estimate of
$100,000 to $150,000. It
failed to sell.
Lot 76, bust
of a Dioskouros, gilt-bronze, Roman, circa 1st-2nd Century A.D.,
5 1/2 inches high
Lot
76 is an handsome Roman gilt bronze bust of a Dioskouros, circa 1st-2nd
Century A.D. It is 5 1/2 inches high and was once in the
Christos
G. Bastis of New York collection. It has an estimate of
$80,000
to $120,000. It
sold for $98,500.
Lot
71, Venus, Roman, bronze, 4 3/4 inches high, left; Lot 72, Venus,
bronze, Roman, 5 1/4 inches high; both circa 1st-2nd Century A.D.
There
are two nice Roman bronze statuettes of Venus circa 1st-2nd Century
A.D. Lot 71 is 4 3/4 inches high and has a modest esimate of
$6,000 to $8,000. It
sold for $8,750. Lot 72 is 5 1/4 inches high
and has an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000. It sold for $11,250.
Lot 62,
dolphin, bronze, Roman, circa 1st Century A.D., 7 3/4 inches high
One
of the auction's most dramatic works is Lot 62, a 7 3/4-inch-high Roman
bronze dolphin from about the 1st Century A.D. It was once
with
Robert Haber of New York. The catalogue suggests its original
function was the handle for ritual vessel. It has a modest
estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. It sold for $25,000.
Lot 63, a
triton, bronze, Roman, circa 1st Century B.C.-1st Century A.D., 2 3/8
inches high
A
fine work to accompany lot 62 is a smaller Roman bronze triton from the
1st Century B.C- to the 1st Century A.D. It is 2 3/8 inches
high. The
muscular torso arches backward and splits at the waist into two
fishtails. It has a modest estimate of $7,000 to $9,000.
It sold for
$7,500.
Lot 127, cat,
Egyptian, bronze, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty XX1-XXII, 1070-712
B.C., 23 1/2 inches high
Lot 127 is an impressive,
large Egyptian bronze cat from the Third Intermediate Period of Dynasty
XXI-XXII, 1070-712 B.C. It is 23 1/2 inches high.
It is property from the collection of John W. Kluge beging
sold to benefit Columbia Univeristy. It has an estimate of
$200,000 to $300,000. It
sold for $482,500.
Lot
148, Imhotep, Egyptian, bronze, 7 1/8 inches high, Ptolemaic Period,
304-30 B.C
Lot
148 is an Egyptian bronze statue of Imhotep from the Ptolemaic Period,
304-30 B.C. It is 7 1/8 inches high. It has an
estiamte of 46,000 to $8,000. It
sold for $22,500.
Lot 147, pair
of bronze eye and brow inlays, Egyptian, Third Intermediate
Period to Late Period, Dynasty XXI-XXX, 1070-343 B.C., 3 3/8 inches each
Lot
147 is a handsome Egyptian pair of bronze eye and brow inlays from the
Third Intermediate Period to the Late Priod, Dynasty XXI-XXX,
1070-343 B.C. Each is 3 3/8 inches long. The lot
has an estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. It sold for $10,625.
Lot 142,
Cippus, Egyptian, faience, Ptolemaic Period, 304-30 B.C., 3 inches high
Lot
142 is a good Egyptian faience cippus from the Ptolemaic Period, 304-30
B.C. It is 3 inches high. It has an estimate of
$5,000 to $7,000.
It sold for $21,250.
Lot 187,
female figure, terracotta, Iranian, circa early 1st
Millennium B.C., 19 5/8 inches high
Lot
187 is a Iranian terracotta female figure from circa the early 1st
Millennium B.C. It is 19 5/8 inches high.
It has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for 230,500.
Lot 193, Male
figure, Iranian, pottery, circa Early 1st Millennium B.C., 13 3/4
inches high
Lot
193 is a male figure in pottery, Iranian, circa Early 1st Millennium
B.C. It is 13 3/4 inches high and its arms are raised holding
globular jars with projecting animal-head spouts. It has a
conservative estimate of $1,500 to $2,500. It sold for $4,750.
See The
City Review article on the Fall 2012 Antiquities auction at Sotheby's
New York
See The
City Review article on the Spring 2012 Antiquities auction at Christie's
See The
City Review article on the Spring 2011 Antiquities auction at Christies
See The City Review article on the
Spring 2011 Antiquities auction at Sotheby's