Art/Auctions: Antiquities auction, Christie's New York, April 19, 2018

By Carter B. Horsley

This April 19, 2016 auction of Antiquities at Christie's New York is highlighted by several Egypian pieces including a Late Period sacred bull, a monumental red-granite head of pharaoh Nectanebo II, and two limestone reliefs of Nyankhnesut, and some good Roman works including a marble torso of the Doryphyoros of Polykleitos and a marble portrait head of the Emperior Hadrian.

According to Hannah Solomon, Christie's specialist and head of sale for antiquities, Lot 54, an Egyptian granodiorite Sacred Bull of the Late Period (684-332 B.C.) is "a gem of a piece," adding that it is "wonderfully carved in delicated but powerful curves" and "becomes the star of any room he inhabits."

"Between the proud horns of this bull are two symbols of its divinity - a solar disc and a uraeus cobra. These attributes reveal its identity as a sacred bull, possibly Apis, but other bulls cults were also known. Apis was the sacred bull-god of the gods Ptah, Osiris and Atum, with his cult centre located at the Egyptian Late Period capital of Memphis. Two other closely-related sacred bulls can be found in the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Foundation Gandur in Geneva, Mrs. Solomon declared in an article on the Christie's website. Only one living bull at a time would be worshipped, and for it to be designated an Apis bull it would need to have split hairs on its tail, a scarab shape under its tongue, a patch of fur representing a bird of prey in flight on its shoulders, a triangular mark on its forehead, a crescent moon on its flank, and a black and white coat. Such a bull would be taken to live in the Apis sanctuary where it would be pampered as though it were a god, given a harem of cows and worshipped daily. It was said its breath cured diseases, and its movements were translated as prophecies," the article continued.

The lot has an estimate on request. It failed to sell and was passed at $3,700,000.

Lot 60, Monumental red-granite head of Pharaoh Nectanebo II, Late Period, 30th Dynasty, Nectanebo II's reign 360-343 B.C., 15 1/2 inches high

Lot 60 is an impressive, large red-granite head of Pharaoh Nectanebo II who reigned in Egypt from 360-343 B.C. It is 15 1/2 inches high.

The catalogue provides the following commentary:

"This over-lifesized head of an Egyptian ruler boasts an exceptionally illustrious provenance, tracing its lineage back to Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke (1656-1733), who assembled an impressive collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities at Wilton House, the family’s country manor in Salisbury. First published in the early 18th century, the head has been extensively written about in diverse publications ranging from Adolf Michaelis’ seminal Ancient Marbles in Great Britain to an early 19th century poem by John Wolcot that satirized King George III’s visit to Wilton house. In the latter, the head is used as a comedic device when the King mistakes it for a depiction of an English lord. Lord Pembroke corrects the King by telling him it is actually Sesostris, the Pharaoh from the 12th dynasty mentioned by Herodotus in his Histories. This attribution, while indeed closer in accuracy than a British nobleman, is also incorrect and points to the difficulty in ascribing a clear identity to the portrait.

"...The King is depicted wearing a striped nemes-headdress once fronted by a now-damaged uraeus cobra. The modelling of the face and the treatment of the eyes, nose and lips bear the stylistic hallmarks associated with the Royal sculpture of the 30th Dynasty, features which continue into the early Ptolemaic Period. Although the head has been known for some time in the Egyptological literature, color photographs from various angles were not available to earlier researchers, factors which might have contributed to some confusion over the identity of this portrait.

"In fact, the first serious Egyptological study was undertaken by J. Josephson (Egyptian Royal Sculpture of the Late Period, 400-246 B.C., p. 26), who only knew the head from black and white images. This led him to identify the material from which it is sculpted as “grey granite” rather than red, to characterize the face as lacking significant modelling, and to state that “so little pleating of the headdress remains that it is impossible to ascertain if the pleating is two-toned.” These aspects in combination with comparison to the colossal limestone portrait of Nectanebo I from Hermopolis, now in the Egyptian Museum...lead Josephson to attribute this colossal portrait to that king.

"Since there are very few firmly dated portraits of Nectanebo I and II, the issue of identification is difficult, but some conclusions are possible. A comparison might be made with the head now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, attributed to Nectanebo II, (accession no. 2000.637 and op. cit., pl. 10c), which features sensitive modelling of the face. As in the case of the Wilton House head, the eyes are delicately rendered, and the eyebrows are naturalistic, and do not feature plastic outlines. A particularly important comparison is the quartzite portrait in the University of Pennsylvania Museum (accession no. E14303, op. cit., pl. 10a), also ascribed to Nectanebo II. Here we see many features of the Wilton House portrait, including the shape of the eyebrows, the tilt and modelling of the eyes, the spread of the nose, and the deeply-drilled corners of the mouth, with its slight smile.

The lot has an estimate of $600,000 to $900,000. It sold for $732,500.

Lot 50, Roman marble copy of the Doryphoros of Polykleitos, circa 1st Century A.D., 27 1/2 inches high

Lot 50 is a superb Roman marble copy of the torso of the Doryphoros of Polykleitos, circa 1st Century A.D. It is 27 1/2 inches high.

The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:

"Polykleitos was one of the most famous and influential Greek sculptors of the High Classical Period. A native of Argos in the Peloponnesus, his artistic career flourished circa 450-420 B.C. The Doryphoros or Spear-bearer (created circa 440 B.C.), and several other of his works are described in ancient literature and are recognized in surviving Roman copies, including the Diadumenos or Fillet-binder, and the Kyniskos, identified as the Westmacott Athlete since the 19th century. His Amazon of Ephesus was famed for having been chosen in a competition over works by the sculptors Pheidias and Kresilas, while his most magnificent creation was said to be the colossal gold and ivory cult statue of Hera from the Heraeum of his native Argos. Pliny tells us that Polykleitos wrote about his theories of rhythm and proportion. J.M. Hurwit in "The Doryphoros: Looking Backward" says the most important thing about the sculpture is the "...perfect equilibrium of its pose--the ideal chiasmos it establishes between right and left, taut and loose, straight and bent, resting and moving limbs." He goes on to note that the juxtaposition of these antithetical pairs are the embodiment of the Polykleitan canon (W.G. Mood ed., Polykleitos, the Doryphoros and Tradition, p. 11). The sculpture's fame and popularity with the Romans is confirmed by the large number of surviving marble copies of the now-lost bronze original. This superbly modelled torso was altered in antiquity, perhaps from conversion of a partially draped figure."

The lot was once in the collection of the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore.

It has an estimate of $250,000 to $350,000. It sold for $492,500.

Lor 51, Roman marble head of a god, circa early 2nd Century A.D., 13 inches high

Lot 51 is an impressive Roman marble head of a god, circa 2nd Century A.D. It is 13 inches high and was once in the collection of Alphonse Kahn.

The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:

"Though catalogued as a Greek original in the 1914 Sambon sale, this splendid marble head is now understood to be a Roman copy of a Hellenistic Greek bronze original. C.C. Vermeule writes, "While the bold use of drilling and undercutting might at first glance suggest an Antonine date, the proportions of the features, with the very large and sharp-lidded eyes but not bulging eyes, the strongly emphasized division of lips, have their best parallels in major works of late Flavian to Hadrianic times" (The Ernest Brummer Collection, p. 245).

"As only the head of the statue survives, it is impossible to be more specific about which deity is being represented; the god's pose, attributes and dress may have enabled a more precise identification. However, the thick locks, beard and strikingly serene demeanor relates him to typical representations of Asclepius or Jupiter, divinities associated with paternal compassion. For a colossal head with a similar relatively short beard, see the colossal statue of Asclepius in the Hermitage (B. Holtzmann, "Asklepios," LIMC, vol. II, no. 261). It is likely that the ultimate prototype for the style is a late 4th century B.C. cult statue of Serapis by Bryaxis, from which the present sculpture inherits its cascading hair.

"This impressive head attracted the attention of two of the most noted dealers of the past two centuries. Arthur Sambon (1867-1947) was the son of well-known art dealer and numismatist Jules Sambon. He followed in his father's footsteps to worldwide acclaim. He served as President of the Chambre des experts d'art in Paris. In 1903 he published The Ancient coins Italy ... Etruria, Umbria, Picenum, Samnium, Campania (Cuma and Naples). One of his most famous clients was J. Pierpont Morgan (1865-1913), and it was he who purchased the renowned glass "Morgan cup" (now at the Corning Museum of Glass) at a Paris auction in 1914 for "unlimited commission" on behalf of the American financier.

"Ernest Brummer (1891-1964), along with his brothers Joseph (1883–1947) and Imre (1895–1928), were notable dealers of Ancient, Medieval, contemporary French, Pre-Columbian and Tribal art. The brothers operated a gallery in Paris and later New York. Curators and scholars of note were devoted patrons, including Gisela Richter, Curator of Greek and Roman art at the Metropolitan Museum, and James Rorimer, Head of the Medieval department, Director of the Cloisters, and later the Museum. Many of the most important acquisitions of the 1920s, 1930s and 1950s at the Metropolitan, the Cloisters and the Louvre originated with the Brummer brothers, and owe their accession into hallowed collections to the Brummers’ extraordinarily discerning taste. Ernest himself was an art historian of distinction, having studied at the Sorbonne and the �cole du Louvre; at the latter he worked alongside Salomon Reinach, Director of the Mus�e des Antiquit�s Nationales."

The lot has an estimate of $300,000 to $400,000. It sold for $396,500.

Lot 62, one of two Eypgtian limestone reliefs of Nyankhnesut, Old Kingdom. early 6th Dynasty, circa 2323-2291 B.C., 25 3/8 inches high

Lot 62 consists of two similar Egyptian limestone reliefs of Nyankhnesut from the Old Kingdom, early 6th Century, circa 2323-2291 B.C. The tallest is about 25 3/8 inches high.

The catalogue entry provides the following commentary:

"Carved in sharply-delineated sunk relief, these two lower portions of narrow pillars or door jambs derived from Nyankhnesut's tomb at Saqqara. Part of a large group of reliefs from this tomb that entered the market around 1917, these fragments are among those that were originally handled by the dealer Jacob Hirsch. The large figures of Nyankhnesut serve both as images of the deceased man reflecting various aspects of his priestly and ritual functions, and as elaborate and large-scale hieroglyphic determinatives forming the end of the writing of his name, and thus reflect the complex interaction of tomb art and writing during the developed Old Kingdom. Although the precise location of the tomb of Nyankhnesut was lost during the 20th century, in 2000 the tomb was rediscovered by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities working at Saqqara near the Third Dynasty enclosure wall of King Sekhemkhet, and it is likely that these fragments derive from pillared Room D of the tomb, though their exact architectural setting may not yet be established with certainty.

"The figure facing right wears the priestly sash known from representations of lector priests and may be contrasted with the figure facing left, who sports the leopard-skin garment typical of the sem-priest. The hands of the two figures are also differentiated by the items they hold; the figure facing right holds an object (perhaps a scepter) that protrudes from the back of his fist, and the figure facing left holds parts of the tail of the leopard skin that he wears. These elements shown in detail in relief are attenuated in sculpture in three dimensions, appearing usually only as round objects of uncertain nature in the hands of seated or standing statues, and their appearance here may usefully be contrasted with the hands of statues (see H. G. Fischer, “ An Elusive Shape within the Fisted Hands of Egyptian Statues,” The Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 10, 1975, pp. 9-21."

The lot has an estimate of $120,000 to $180,000. It sold for $300,000.

Lot 63, relief, limestone, Egyptian, Old Kingdom, 6th Dynasty, 2360-2195 B.C., 21 1/4 inches high

Lot 63 is an excellent Egyptian limestone relief from the Old Kingdom, 6th Dynasty, 2360-2195 B.C. It is 21 1/4 inches high. It was once with Mathias Komor of New York. This large-scale panel likely comes from the right side of a false door from a mastaba tomb at Saqqara. It has an estimate of $150,000 to $250,000. It sold for $187,500.

Lot 57, Head of a pharaoh, plaster, 30th Dynasty-Early Ptolemaic Period, circa 380-246 B.C., 10 1/2 inches high

Lot 57 is a very fine plaster sculptor's model of the head of pharoah from the 30th Dynasty-Early Ptolemaic Period, circa 380-246 B.C. It is 10 1/2 inches high. It has an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. It sold for $125,000.

Preview and recap of Antiquities auction at Sotheby's New York December 15, 2016 with some very fine small Egyptian bronzes, a lovely alabaster head of a woman and a sacrophagus (12/15/16, updated 12/26/16)

Preview and recap of Antiquities auction at Christie's New York October 25, 2016 with some great Roman marble statues of draped goddesses, a very fine gold Roman tiara and several excellent Egyptian bronzes (10/24/16, updated 12/15/16)
Preview and recap of Antiquities auction at Christie's New York April 12, 2016 with several excellent Roman marbles (4/12/16, updated 4/18/16)
Preview and recap of Antiquities auction at Sotheby's New York December 8, 2015 with John Lennon's large granite statue of Sekhmet, a great Egyptian steatite statue of Lady Iset, and a fine wood mummy mask (12/7/15, updated 12/22/15)
Preview and recap of Antiquities Auction at Christie's New York December 9, 2015 with a very fine Hellenistic statue of a boy, several good bronze Egyptian statues of Bastet, and a good bronze Piravend figure of a woman (12/7/15, updated 12/16/15)

See The City Review article on the Fall 2015 Antiquities auction at Sotheby's New York

See The City Review article on the Fall 2015 Antiquities auction at Christie's New York

See The City Review article on the Spring 2015 Antiquities auction at Sotheby's New York

See The City Review article on Spring 2015 Antiquities auction at Christie's New York

See The City Review article on the Fall 2014 Antiquities auction at Sotheby's New York

See The City Review article on the Fall 2014 Antiquities auction at Christie's New York

See The City Review article on the Spring 2014 Antiquities auction at Sotheby's New York