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Sat 11 May

A MONUMENTAL AND IMPRESSIVE ITALIAN SCULPTED LIMESTONE GROUP OF BACCHUS WITH A SATYR, FIRST QUARTER 20TH CENTURY - The god of wine portrayed nude and standing, a cup in his raised right hand, the infant satyr at his feet 250 cm. high. Atop a rectangular section limestone plinth with molded upper edges and base. 100 cm. high, 350 cm. high overall. It seems that the sculptor of this striking limestone group was heavily influenced by Michelangelo's marble Bacchus of 1496-7, in which the master portrayed the wine god in a reeling, drunken posture. The inspiration for the work appears to be the description in Pliny the Elder's Natural History of a lost bronze sculpture by Praxiteles, depicting "Bacchus, Drunkenness and a Satyr." The sense of precariousness resulting from a high center of gravity can be found in a number of later works by the artist, most notably the David If anything, the representation of the inebriated unsteadiness of the god in this lot is more emphasized, his torso almost involuntarily arching to his left in an apparent over reactionary attempt to balance. The more obviously portrayed drunkenness in the current example is further underlined by the differences in the treatment of the eyes in relation to the drinking cup. In Michelangelo's Bacchus the god is seemingly trying to focus his eyes in a concentrated manner on the skyphos before him, and succeeding; whereas in the example offered here there is more of a narrowing of the eyes, more of a suggestion of the blurred vision more associated with advanced inebriation that will come just prior to collapse In this respect, the rendition here is in fact a portrayal of a less refined and more animalistic Bacchus altogether. This Bacchus has been sculpted with more pronounced musculature than the more refined and Antinous-like model in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello and importantly, has been carved with pubic hair, where Michelangelo's was not. The depiction of the wine god as a more barbaric figure in this instance is therefore almost certainly by design."

Estim. 18 000 - 25 000 EUR

Tue 14 May

A bronze statue of a woman with a vessel on her head, Bactrian, late 3rd - early 2nd millennium B.C. Bronze sculpture of a woman with a long shawl curved around her hips, reaching just before her ankles. The shawl divided into three zones by two incisions in the lower section, the surface decorated with fine dot punctures representing a decoration or the texture of the shawl. The upper part of the body naked with two stylized breasts whose nipples are clearly set off. In the center of the abdomen from the navel to the breast a line of hatchings arranged like fish bones, probably representing body painting or a tattoo. Around the neck a set of four necklaces, the uppermost and the lowermost decorated with a zigzag pattern. The face with eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth strikingly worked out in idiosyncratic stylization, the hairstyle with long, strictly combed back hair gathered into a "fishtail-shaped" chignon at the nape of the neck, under which two ribbons hang between the clearly depicted shoulder blades. The right arm bent with the forearm horizontal, the fingers of the hand formed into a circle in which an object could once be inserted. The left arm reaching over the head to a double conical vessel with funnel rim, holding it with the hand above the carination on the head. The shoulder of the vessel decorated with chip carving, which leaves plastically protruding zigzag bands between the depressions. The vessel and the head are hollow. Very beautiful, dark green patina. On the back of the lower hem of the garment and the legs protruding from underneath, as well as on the side of the vessel on the head grass-green oxide layers. The feet broken off, otherwise completely intact. Preserved height 21.4 cm. Impressive and graceful bronze sculpture of the Central Asian Bronze Age. Provenance: Rhenish private collection. Condition: I - II

No estimate

Tue 14 May

A published red-figured Attic pelike with the depiction of Penelope, circa 450 B.C.. Masterly elaborated pelike in the red-figured style. The front depicts a woman with a servant. The lady sits on a stool, she wears a chiton and a himation with a black hem. She has her hair pulled back with a broad fillet. The right leg is crossed over her left one, and she rests her lowered head on the right arm. She seems to be lost in her thoughts. The depiction corresponds to that of Penelope's, wife of Odysseus, from the 5th century B.C. Similar representations can be seen in a marble sculpture from Persepolis and the Attic Skyphos from Chiusi, which gave the Penelope Painter his name. The servant faces her mistress. She wears a long, pleated chiton and a sakkos over her hair. Her arms are stretched out and handing a fillet to the lady. A wreath floating above the scene. The back depicts a young man with a fillet and a staff. On the neck between the handles egg-dart motive. Height 20 cm. Except for some minor wear intact. Published in: J. Oleson and D. Buitron, "Coins and Vases of Arthur Stone Dewing", Cambridge 1971, number 22. The painting style referring to the Sabouroff Painter or one of his successors - the Munich Painter 2363 or the Trophy Painter. Provenance: American private collection Arthur Stone Dewing (1880 - 1971), Boston, USA. By decent to his daughter Mary Morain (died 1999) and his son-in-law Lloyd (died 2010). Auctioned with Christie's New York on 9 June 2011, lot 91. Exhibited in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts from 1961 to 2002. On loan also in the Fogg Museum Cambridge from 11 March to 15 April 1971, as well as in 2002. Condition: I -

No estimate

Tue 14 May

A marble torso of a countryman, 2nd century A.D. High-quality torso of a strong, male figure wearing a sheepskin. The fur is tied around the belly and is only closed at the left shoulder. The man, interpreted as a hunter or farmer, is holding a skewer with two birds, probably ducks, in his right hand at hip height. His left arm runs parallel to his body, and in his hand he holds a rabbit by its legs. The muscles and bone structure are worked in great detail. Unrestored. Dimensions 46 x 22 x 14 cm, height on steel base 49 cm. The sculpture belongs to the genre of "fishermen and country people", a genre that probably originated in Hellenism. The statues of this group show simple people, often clearly characterized as poor and marked by life. Often it is fishermen and hunters who carry their captured animals, typically small game, and sometimes Dionysian attributes are also present, so that one would assume that the figures are on the way to a Dionysian festival to which they contribute their prey. The basic research on this: H. P. Laubscher "Fischer und Landleute. Studien zur hellenistischen Genreplastik", Mainz 1982. An identical torso, which most likely comes from the same workshop and can be assigned to the same group of figures, is in the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, USA, under the accession number A231. The Barnes torso in the same spotted fur holds a wineskin in his arms, but is interpreted as a satyr. Mounted. Provenance: Belgian private collection U. C., acquired in the 1950s. Since then in a diplomatic family estate. Condition: II -

No estimate

Wed 15 May

Inkwell with Diana bathing Fire-gilt bronze, lapis lazuli, rhodochrosite. The slightly raised, fully sculpted figure of a crouching woman with a bow on an oblong base with protruding angled corners. Two inkwells and two grit boxes inserted in the four corners. Recessed handles in the red stone of the base. Chips to the edge of the base, gilding rubbed in places. H 26.5, W 26.5, D 17.4 cm. Russia, 1833, probably using an earlier bronze figure from Italy. The finely chiseled bronze goes back to a Hellenistic sculpture traditionally referred to as "Bathing Aphrodite". The woman is depicted in a pose that was typical of bathing Greek women, who squatted in small pools and cleaned themselves with the help of maids who doused them with water. This type of statue was extremely popular in Roman times, when the figure was also placed in the baths of wealthy private individuals. Roman examples of the "Crouching Aphrodite" can be found in numerous museums and private collections, including the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, the Louvre Paris, the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no. 09.221.1), the Museo del Prado and the Fondazione Torlonia (inv. MT 170). The motif was disseminated as early as the 16th century through prints, both by Marcantonio Raimondi and in Germany by Albrecht Altdorfer. Famous sculptors such as Giambologna also copied the figure. Here, the well-known model has become a Diana in the bath, which can be identified by her arch. This may have been at the request of the client. The depicted drawing of the base is not identified and does not exist in the original, but only as a copy. Provenance Lord Ian Hedworth John Little Gilmour, Baron of Craigmillar (1926 - 2007). By inheritance to Christopher and Mardi Gilmour, Winslow Hall, Buckinghamshire, England UK. Italian collection.

Estim. 15 000 - 20 000 EUR
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