By Carter B. Horsley

One of the great images in art is the famous Laocoõn statue in the Vatican collections that show Laocoõn and his sons in agony with a writhing snake.

Their exaggerated and tormented, but memorable expressions are of the type found on the face of a Late Hellenistic marble head that is the highlight of this antiquities sale.

The head, Lot 321, is dated circa 2nd Century B. C.

"Perhaps depicting a giant, the powerfully expressive head thrown back and inclined to the left, the muscles of the neck taut from the movement, the face with strongly modeled, undulated brows, the large, deep-set, bulging eyes recessed for now-missing inlays, with straight nose and square chin, the upper row of teeth visible within his parted lips, the face framed by Alexanderesque upswept wavy locks," is the way Christie’s begins to describe this 15-inch-high head.

"The style of this magnificent colossal head, with its knotted row and exaggerated expression, finds its closest parallels with the so-called 'baroque' style of the High Hellenistic period…Compare for example the heads of defeated Celts which were original part of a Pergamene dedication on the Athenian Acropolis, known from Roman copies now in Venice and Paris….The same expression is met on the heads of Laocoõn and his sons on the famous group now in the Vatican.….Closest to the present head at the giants, such as Alkyoneus, from the Gigagantomachy frieze of the 'Great Altar' of Pergamon," it continued.

The catalogue notes that the "now-missing hair at the top of the head [was] originally finished in a separately carved stone, the back of the head hollowed out, suggesting this was once located against or near a wall." The fact that the piece, therefore, is not completely three-dimensional may have been a factor in its estimate of $300,000 to $400,000, which is ambitious for a "head" but not considering its poignant expression and its size. It sold for $222,500, including the buyer's premium as do all the prices in this article.

Another Roman marble head, Lot 374, also has parted lips and exposed teeth. It depicts a satyr with an animated expression and is dated circa the middle of the 2nd Century, A.D. The 12 7/8-inch-high head, which has a horn visible under the curls, has an estimate of only $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $10,925.

The sale has several other good "heads." Lot 324 is a Roman marble head of Apollo, circa 1st Century, B.C., 10 ½-inches hall, with an ambitious estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. It is a Roman variant of the so-called "Omphalos" Apollo that the catalogue said is "known from nearly a dozen divergent versions, all based on a Greek original of circa 460 B.C. It failed to sell. Lot 328 is a fine Roman marble head of a goddess, 13 ¼ inches high, from about the same period with an estimate of $50,000 to $80,000. It sold for $244,500. Lot 376 is a 13 ½-inch-high Roman marble portrait of a man, circa mid-3rd Century A.D., that has an estimate of $50,000 to $80,000. It sold for $48,300.

There are several nice Roman bronzes, especially lot 442, a Roman bronze group, circa 1st Century, A.D., a 13-inch-high work, that the catalogue says is "probably after a Hellenistic original of the 3rd/2nd Century B.C., with the youthful, athletic hero Euphemus carrying the Triton Eurypylus" whose serpentine legs coil around those of Euphemus and who is holding a turtle in his left hand. The catalogue notes that its provenance "possibly associated with Francesco Sforza and later François I of France. It has a conservative estimate of $50,000 to $80,000. It sold for $123,500.

There are numerous very good Egyptian works.

Condition, of course, always is an important factor in antiquities. The cover illustration of the catalogue, Lot 403, is a pair of Nubian wooden furniture supports of wonderful color and charming carving but some quite visible damage. The 19 3/4-inch-high wooden works have a marvelous dark red brown patina and their painted designs seem as fresh as yesterday despite the fact that they date from the Napatan Period, 8th-4th Century, B.C. The works have an estimate of $50,000 to $80,000 and given the continued rising collector interest in Egyptian works is conservative and would probably have been much higher if the damage, which is slight, were less visible. One of the works is more considerably more damaged than the other and the estimate would probably be not much less just for the better piece alone, but it is always nicer to have a "complete" or fuller set if only because it permits one to see the individuality of each piece and to appreciate the better ones even more." It sold for $57,000.

There are several other very fine Roman pieces.

Lot 412 is a Roman parcel gilt silver box lid, circa late 1st Century, B.C./1st Century, A.D., 3 1/4 inches wide. The very high relief depicts several sacrificial animals and has a conservative estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. It sold for $32,200.

Lot 413 is a Roman silver spoon and fork, circa 1st Century, A.D., that has a handle with the forepart of a leopard rising on the head of a griffin. The 6 1/8-inch-long utensil has a conservative estimate of $3,000 to $5,000. It sold for $7,475.

Lot 415 is a Roman bronze statue of Venus wrapping a breast band around himself. The piece is circa 1st Century, A.D., and is 5 1/2 inches high. It has a conservative estimate of $6,000 to $8,000. It sold for $10,925.

Lot 417 is a Roman bronze statue of Victoria, circa 1st Century A.D. The finely carved piece has a nice patina and is 6 7/8 inches high and has an conservative estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 426 is a very interesting Etruscan bronze finial, circa early 7th Century, B.C., of a siren from the Sarti Collection that is 2 1/2 inches high and has an estimate of $3,000 to $5,000. It was passed.

Lot 405 is a magnificent Roman bronze lamp in the form of Osiris-Attis, probably Egypt, circa 2nd Century A.D., 11 3/8 inches long. The lamp, shown above, is in the form of a youth enveloped in mummy bandages, wearing an eagle headdress and encircled by a serpent. It has a very conservative estimate of $8,000 to $12,000 and is one of the finest works to be offered at auction this fall. It sold for $20,500.

Lots 322 and 323 are very handsome Roman terracotta "campagna" reliefs, circa 1st Century, A.D., both with conservative estimate of $15,000 to $20,000. The former is 24 3/8 inches high and the latter is 23 7/8 inches high. Lot 322 sold for $51,750. Lot 323 sold for $43,700.

Lot 386 is an excellent Roman bronze appliqué of a lion, 5 inches long, circa 1st Century, A.D., that has an estimate of $2,000 to $3,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 219 is a quite bold New Kingdom painted limestone relief, Dynasty XIX-XX, 1307-1070 B.C., 27 inches long. It has an ambitious high estimate of $200,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 234 is a very nice Egypitan bronze figure of Horus atop an altar, 6 3/4 inches high, Dynasty XXVI, 664-525 B.C. It has a conservative high estimate of $6,000. It sold for $6,900.

Lots 259, 260 and 261 are collections of Anatolian marble heads from the Max Bill-Angela Thomas Collection. Each lot has an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. Lot 259 failed to sell, Lots 260 and 261 each sold for $9,200.

One of the best offerings is Lot 498, a North Syrian basalt hedgehog, circa 2nd Millennium, B.C. The 5 1/4-inch-high work has a conservative estimate of $3,000 to $5,000 and is quite remarkable. It sold for $2,990.

Of 340 lots offered, only 236 were sold, a rather disappointing percentage.