The cultures of the Mediterranean and Near East have long left their mark on the art world. From the Italian Peninsula to Persia, this region’s rich culture and artwork have long been displayed in museums and exhibitions across the world. They have also experienced financial success, particularly with Christie's London's latest antiquities auction.
The sale’s success was spearheaded by a bronze falcon statue from Ancient Egypt that sold for £630,000 (US$817,453), just over doubling its low estimate. This was followed by an ancient Greek vase and a bronze Etruscan statue. However, sold in the greatest quantity were various gold coins from the Achaemenid Empire from Persia, which all sold well above their estimated prices.
Lot 21⏐An Egyptian Bronze Falcon
Circa Late Period- Ptolemaic Period 664-30 BCE
Height: 31.1 cm
Provenance:
- Joseph Khawam & Co., Cairo
- Private Collection Paris, acquired from the above in 1954; thence by descent
Estimate £250,000 - 350,000
Hammer Price: £500,000
Sold: £630,000 (US$817,453)
The veneration of the falcon in Egypt had much to do with its connection to their god of the sun, sky, and kingship, Horus. He was depicted as a man with the head of a falcon. As such, the falcon in Egyptian culture would come to represent kingly divinity, something matched by the striking and proud stance of this bronze falcon sculpture.
The bird also represented power, dominance, the sky, and the heavens. This combination of physicality and mythological power. The manifestation and essence of those ideals seem to be manifested in this bronze statue.
This power can be seen in the stance that the bronze falcon is fashioned in. The bird’s wings are folded inward, and its talons seemingly grip the wooden plinth it stands on. This strong physical stance is matched by the sharply crafted face. The details that identify it as a falcon are recessed into the bronze, while the beak is sharply hooked.
What makes this falcon such an interesting antique is its hollow-cast nature. On the bottom of the bird, a small hole can be found leading to its hollow interior. Past examples of similar statues indicate that mummified remains or a votive, a type of offering made to a god, would have been placed there. This adds practical or even religious usage to the already striking statue.
Lot 95 ⏐Group Exekias⏐An Attic Black-Figured Amphora (Type B)
Circa 540 BCE
Height: 40.5 cm
Provenance:
- Swiss Private Collection, Acquired before 1942; thence by descent
Estimate: £200,000 - 300,000
Hammer Price: £245,000
Sold: £308,700
The sale’s headlining lot was a vase done in the style of Group Exekias (Group E). This black figure style of art is synonymous with ancient Greece and is named after Exekias (roughly 550–525 BCE), who was a renowned pottery maker and vase painter from ancient Athens. Group E was art that was closely related to Exekias's art, with them all sharing the same style and themes, although some came before Exekias himself.
Depicted on the vase is the battle between Herakles, the son of Zeus, and Geryon, a three-headed and three-bodied monster. In the story, Herakles is undergoing his Tenth Labour where the King of Mycenae sends him to capture Geryon’s cow.
This myth was popular with Greek artists and vasemakers. It first appeared in the 7th century BCE and would continue to this era of black-figure painters in the 6th century BCE. Overall, the battle between Herakles and Geryon has been used more than 70 times on various vases.
On the other side of the vase is another mythological scene showing Dionysus, the god of wine, fruit, fertility, and much more, standing between four satyrs. Satyrs were mythological Greek creatures, similar to centaurs in that they were half-horse and half-man. They often accompanied Dionysus and were seen as fun-loving spirits.
Lot 118⏐An Etruscan Bronze Kore
Circa Late 6th Century BCE
Height: 15.9 cm
Provenance:
- Art Market in Rome, by 1941 (identified by photographs)
- Dr. Ernst Homann-Wedeking (1908-2002), Munich and Hamburg, acquired by 1943
- Georg Ernst Graf Platen Hallermund, London, 1950s
- Private Collection, Germany
- With Gordian Weber Kunsthandel, Cologne, 2009
Estimate £100,000 - 150,000
Hammer Price: £240,000
Sold: £302,400 (US$392,890)
The Etruscan civilization lived in modern-day Tuscany. They had various city-states and a rich culture in the arts. They were particularly famed for their terracotta works, but their bronze works were equally famed. Eventually, their civilization would be consumed by the ever-expanding Romans, but their style of art lives on.
The statue itself depicts a female figure referred to as a kore, a statue that specifically depicts a young woman standing upright and wearing long, loose robes. Her hands are also used in the statue, with her left hand holding a miniature egg. Academics also claim that, on the other hand, she would have held a patera, a type of bowl used to hold offerings to gods, giving this piece a sort of religious significance.
The statue sold by Christie’s is an example of Etruscan bronze work and would have once been part of a different vessel. Small statues like these often sat on objects such as urns, boxes, or baskets as decorative features. This was common in Etruscan culture, and below is an example of how it may have been used.
A bronze cinerary urn with a lid, originating from the Campania region of Southern Italy, which was dominated by the Etruscan culture at the time⏐Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Lot 75⏐An Achaemenid Gold Applique of a Hybrid Lion
Circa 5th Century BCE
Length: 3.9 cm
Provenance:
- Reputedly excavated in Hamadan, Iran in 1920
- Maurice Vidal collection, New York, prior to July 1948
Estimate: £60,000-80,000
Hammer Price: £190,000
Sold: £239,400 (US$309,607)
The Achaemenid Empire was founded by nomadic Persians and became one of the largest empires in history. The Achaemenids were wealthy, with the ancient Greek historian Herodotus claiming that the Achaemenids “glittered all over with gold.” The sale of this coin, along with nine other Achaemenid gold pieces, displays the desire for these gold pieces.
The pieces are an excellent example of the craftsmanship present in the Empire, as these small coins and other pieces are chock full of detail and motifs that defined Persia, for example, the lions, a rhyton, and the Faravahar, a major religious symbol in Zoroastrianism.
Collectively known as the Vidal Horde, these 10 lots performed exceptionally well relative to their estimates. Even the lowest-sold prices tripled their low estimates. They all belonged to a single French owner and were allegedly all unearthed in Hamadan, Persia, in 1920, an important excavation site.
The other nine lots of the Vidal Horde, in total the collection earned £876,960 (around US$1.13 million)
Other Highlighted Lots:
Lot 35⏐An Egyptian Painted Wood Mummy Portrait of a Man
Circa Roman Period, Hadrianic, First Half of the 2nd Century AD
Height: 49.5 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Orient-Occident, Paris, before 1981
- Acquired from the above in 1982.
Estimate: £150,000 - 250,000
Hammer Price: £180,000
Sold: £226,800 (US$293,312)
Lot 3⏐Two Egyptian Limestone Relief Fragments for Niankhmin
Circa Old Kingdom, 5th Dynasty, Reign Of Unas, 2345-2315 BCE
Dimensions: 123 x 51.4 cm and 104 x 71 cm
Provenance:
- Alexander Sandmeier, (Egyptian Galery of Art Gottingen, Germany, 1975)
- Belgian Private Collection and since passed down by descent.
Estimate: £80,000 - 120,000
Hammer Price: £75,000
Sold Price: £94,500 (US$122,213)
Lot 61⏐A Roman Marble Torso of Venus
Circa 2nd Century A.D.
Height: 28 cm
Provenance:
- Nina Borowski, Paris
- Acquired from the above in 1985
Estimate: £10,000 - 15,000
Hammer Price: £70,000
Sold: £88,200 (US$114,065)
Lot 123⏐A Roman Marble Head of a Dioscuros
Circa Severan Dynasty, Late 2nd Century A.D.
Height: 35.6 cm
Provenance:
- H. Money, Esq
- Antiquities; Sotheby's, London, 15 July 1980, lot 189
- Private collection, New York
- Property from a New York private collection; Antiquities, Sotheby's, New York, 6 December 2012, lot 17
- Swiss private collection, acquired from the above
Estimate: £20,000 - 30,000
Hammer Price: £55,000
Sold: £69,300 (US$89,623)
Auction Details:
Auction House: Christie’s London
Sale: Antiquities
Date: 3 July 2024
Number of Lots: 155
Lots Sold: 119
Lots Unsold: 36
Sale Rate: 76%
Sale Total: £3,836,952 (around US$4.96 million)