By Carter B. Horsley

The Spring 2009 auction of Antiquities at Sotheby's has been combined with its spring auctions of Old Master Paintings and European Sculpture June 4, 2009.

The Antiquities section is highlighted by some lovely small Roman marble portrait sculptures and a large Roman marble head of a caryatid.

The Old Masters section of the auction is highlighted by some major paintings inexplicably being deaccessioned by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

The combined sections sold 64.9 percent of the 154 offered lots for a total $14,223,575, very close to the $14,500,000 high pre-sale estimate.

One of the smallest items in the Antiquities section of this auction, Lot 144, is also one of the loveliest. It is a 2 3/8-inch high marble head of Isis or a Ptolemaic Queen. The Hellenistic Greek work dates to the 3rd Century/2nd Century B.C. It comes from the estate of Henri de France (1909-1999), the former head of La Maison de Franc and pretender to the throne, who received the title of Comte de Paris in 1929. According to the catalogue, he married his cousin Isabelle d'Orleans-Bragance in Palermo in 1931. Following the repeal of the French exile law in 1950 the count and countess returned to France and in 1974 inspired by an exhibition at the "Archives Nationales de Paris," the Comte and Comtesse de Paris set up their own foundation, "Fondation Sant-Louis," to which they entrusted their family residences and treasures. The lot has a modest estimate of $5,000 to $8,000. It sold for 6,250 including the buyer's premium as do all results mentioned in this article.

One of the most spectacular and beautiful works in the exhibition and a very classic antiquity because of its ruined yet still beautiful condition, Lot 113 is a large marble head of a caryatid, late Hellenistic/early Roman Imperial, circa 1st Century B.C. It is 14 inches high. The female head's centrally parted wavy hair is bound in a chignon and falls in long twin curls down the sides of her neck and is surmounted by an intricately wound turban, and she wears fan-shaped earrings and has a broad disk on top of her head for attachment of a basket or vessel, according to the catalogue. The lot has an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 143 is a very fine small Roman Imperial head of Asklepios from the 2nd/3rd Century A.D. It is 3 1/8 inches high and has a estimate of $5,000 to $8,000. It sold for $10,000.

Lot 15 is a very fine and impressive marble Roman Imperial torso of a god or hero that is 18 inches high. It is dated circa 2nd Century A.D. It comes from the Dorotheum in Vienna and has an estimate of $50,000 to $80,000. It sold for $290,500.

Lot 112 is an impressive and fine Roman Imperial portrait bust of a lady. It is Late Augustan, Early 1st Century A.D. It is 16 inches high and has an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. It failed to sell. It was formerly mounted on a 19th Century variegated red and white marble circular socle with quadrangular plinth and the nose had been restored in marble.

Lot 125 is an impressive Roman Imperial marble sarcophagus relieg fragment depicting the two horses of Selene. Executed circa the first half of the 3rd Century A.D., it is 18 by 16 1/2 inches. The catalogue notes that it likely came from a large sarcophagus that depicted an episode fronm the myth of Endymion, in which the moon goddess Selene descends from her chariot and diiscovers the young shepherd asleep in a cave on Mount Latmos and fell in love with him and he chose to sleep for ever, remaining deathless and ageless. The lot has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 107 is a Roman Imperial bronze figure of a warrior circa 2nd Century A.D. It is 8 1/8 inches high and is missing its right arm, its right leg and its left foot. It has an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. It sold for $11,500.

Lot 149 is a tall Hellenistic terracotta figure of Aphrodite, circa 1st Century B.C. It is 17 1/8 inches high and has an estimate of $5,000 to $8,000. It sold for $25,000.

Lot 131 is a graceful and dramatic large Byzantine mosaic panel depicting a leaping leopard from Syria circa 5th/6th Century A.D. It measures 45 by 69 1/4 inches. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $68,500.

Lot 96 is a "monumental" granite Egyptian head of King Nectanebo II, who reigned gfrom 360-342 B.C. It is 15 1/2 inches high and belonged to Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke (1656-1733), Wilton House, Wiltshire, England. The catalogue indicateds that the head probably came from a sphinx wearing the nemes headcloth. It has an estimate of $600,000 to $900,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 130 is a Sumerian gypsum figure of a worshipper. It is Early Dynastic Period, circa 2700-2500 B.C. and 12 1/2 inches high. It has an estimate of $125,000 to $175,000. It was once in the Erlenmeyer Foundation collection. It failed to sell.

Lot 100 is a good Egyptian bronze figure of Osiris with the name Hornefer from the 26th/30th Dynasty, 664-342 B.C. It is 10 1/2 inches high and has an estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. It sold for $25,000.

Lot 39 is a large oil of panel of "The Adoration of the Magi" by Pieter Brughel the Younger (1564-1637/8). It measures 44 by 62 5/8 inches and has an estimate of $800,000 to $1,200,000. It sold for $842,500. The catalogue entry notes that Dr. Klaus Ertz confirms that the painting is by Brueghel the Younger adding that "of the 21 or 23 versions of this painting that Klaus Ertz lists in his catalogue raisonné of the artist, until now only the painting in the Philadelphia Museum of Art...has been universally accepted as autograph, adding that the Philadelphia picture is painted on canvas and is of such high quality that it was considered the work of Pieter Brueghel the Elder until 1965.

The catalogue also notes that "here the prototype is generally thought to be a painting in tempera on linen in the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels," adding that "most commentators have accepted it as an original work by Brueghel the Elder dated to 1555-57, but it is difficult to evaluate because it is in fragile condition and has suffered from water damage."

Lot 11 is a good North Netherlandish School oil on panel of "The Circumcision in The Temple." It measures 19 1/4 by 10 5/8 inches and is dated to the 16th Century. It is one of many works in this auction that are being sold by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to benefit future acquisitions. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It failed to sell.

Lot 20 is a far more important deaccession from the same museum, a lovely and very fine oil on canvas laid down on panel by Gerard Ter Borch (1617-1681). Entitled "The Card Players," it measures 18 3/8 by 14 1/2 inches and any museum in the world would be proud to own it. It has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $1,594,500. It was bought in 1877 by Alphonse, Gustave, Edmond, Lionel and Ferdinand de Rothschild and has been widely exhibited and published. The catalogue notes that the painting is datable to "circa 1659 and exemplifies his paintings of the period, which are notable for their drapery, elegant forms and tantalizing ambiguity." "The 1650s and early 1660s," the catalogue entry continued, "were a time during which he was instrumental in developing a new type of genre painting, set in fashionable interiors and focusing on the social life of the haute bourgeoisie."

Another major Los Angeles museum deaccession is Lot 14, "A Woman Handing a Coin to a Serving Woman with a Child," by Pieter de Hooch (1629-1684). An oil on canvas, it measures 28 3/4 by 26 inches and has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $1,650,500. It and the Ter Borch were given to the museum by Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch in 1944 and it has been widely exhibited and published.

The Los Angeles museum is also seeing Lot 18, "The Twelfth Night by Jan Havicksz. Steen (1626-1679), an oil on canvas that measures 26 1/4 by 33 inches. It was given to the museum by Marion Davies in 1955. It has a modest estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. It sold for $674,500.

Yet another Los Angeles deaccession is Lot 15, a very large and impressive portrait of a woman and her two children that is attributed to Gaspar de Crayer (1684-1669) but would appear as a fine Van Dyck in any many countryhouse to most observers. It was acquired in 1934 as by Cornelis de Vos by William Randolph Hearst who gave it to the museum in 1950. An oil on canvas, it measures 91 by 51 1/2 inches. It has an estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. It sold for $43,750.

Lot 19 is a Los Angeles Museum painting entitled "Head of a Bearded Man" by Sir Peter Paul Rubens. An oil on panel, it measures 26 by 20 inches. It has an estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. It sold for $842,500. It has been widely exhibited and published and is painted on three joined oak plants, two from the same tree. The catalogue notes that the work "is very closely related, in terms of subject and technique, to a panel in the Collections of the Prince of Lichtenstein in Vaduz. The catalogue notes that this painting was attributed to Van Dyck by Michael Jaffé in a 1966 book but that R. Baumstark disputed "that attribution."

The museum consigned 14 works and the group brought a total of $5.8 million, double the pre-sale high estimate.

George Wachter, co-chair of the Old Master Paintings Department Worldwide, said after the auction that he was "very pleased with today's results," adding that "we worked incredibly hard to keep the offering small and focused on quality and managed, in numerous cases, to find not just one bidder, but multiple bidders." "While many of the top lots were in the end purchased by dealers, in each case there was aggressive competition from private collectors which is very encouraging. Our formula of offering Old Master paintings and European Works of Art alongside Antiquities was a success - the works looked great together and we saw significant crossover in the bidding, including the bidders for the top selling Antiquity." Richard M. Keresy and Florent Heintz, experts in charge of the antiquities sale, said they were "encouraged by the number of new buyers in the salesroom."

Lot 12 is being sold by the museum as "Portrait of a Young Man," by Netherlandish School, early 16th Century. An oil on paper laid down on panel, it measures 16 1/4 by 12 1/2 inches. W. Valentiner attributed it in 1927 to Joos van Cleve and M. J. Friedlander published it in 1972 as by van Cleve. It is quite fine and has a modest of $40,000 to $60,000. It sold for $43,750.

Lot 33 is a oil on canvas of "The Incredulity of St. Thomas" by Sir Anthony van Dyck and Studio. It measures 49 3/4 by 44 1/4 inches and the heas of two of the figures appear to have over zealously cleaned at some point in an otherwise very tight and well painted composition. The catalogue notes that it "repeats the composition, with slight differences, of a work by van Dyck in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersurg and that it is in a gilt frame by Fratelli Pacetti of Florence, famous framemakers who here derived the decoration from the Baptistery doors of Florence. The lot has an estimate of $150,000 to $200,000. It sold for $374,500.

Lot 70 is an impressive French Gothic wood figure of Saint John that is 50 inches high. It has an estimate of $15,000 to $25,000. It sold for $28,125.

Lot 84 is a sunning silver and gilt bronze group of Raphael and Tobias that is attributed to Lorenzo Vaccaro (1655-1706). It is 19 3/4 inches high. It has an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000. It sold for $31,250.