The Devoted Classicist: The Private Collection Of A New York Antiquarian.
Christie’s is honored to present The Devoted Classicist: The Private Collection of a New York Antiquarian in a dedicated live sale on October 6th. With more than 40 lots spanning ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Egyptian cultures, the works presented to illustrate the vision of a connoisseur fascinated by antiquity, the Grand Tour, and the history of collecting.
Formerly adorning the James F. D. Lanier House, a Gilded Age mansion in Manhattan’s Murray Hill neighborhood, this diversity of works – including Athenian vases, Egyptian portrait heads, and Roman marble statues of gods, goddesses, and Imperial individuals – are united by a singular commitment to outstanding quality, beauty, and provenance.
Highlights include a Roman Marble Head of a God, depicting an idealized beauty with upswept locks secured with a wreath of laurel and wheat (estimate: $600,000-800,000), an impressive Egyptian Granite Torso of Hor-Maa-Kheru, once in the collection of Otto and Eloise Spaeth (estimate: $300,000-500,000), an over-life-sized Roman Marble Head of Apollo once in a princely Collection (estimate: $320,000-380,000), and a rare Greek Marble Torso of an Athlete from the onset of the Classical Period (estimate: $200,000-300,000).
OF A GOD
HADRIANIC TO ANTONINE PERIOD,
CIRCA EARLY TO MID 2ND CENTURY A.D.
12¾ in. (32.3 cm.) high
Estimate: $600,000-800,000
STELE FOR MEDEA
CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA 375-350 B.C.
25⅞ in. (65.7 cm.) high
Estimate: $400,000-600,000
TORSO OF A YOUTH
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY A.D.
18 in. (45.7 cm.) high
Estimate: $350,000-550,000
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, REIGN OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT TO PTOLEMY I, CIRCA 332-285 B.C.
17 in. (43.1 cm.) high
Estimate: $300,000-500,000
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.
17¼ in. (43.8 cm.) high
Estimate: $320,000-380,000
CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.
22¼ in. (56.5 cm.) high
Estimate: $300,000-500,000
