Western antiquities, Samson Spanier

Content:Posted in Apollo
magazine:http://www.apollo-magazine.com/artic...4&id=10Sta rt
of articleWestern antiquitiesSamson SpanierThe past year has seen a
concerted effort by auction houses and dealers toput past troubles in the
market behind them, and concentrate onwell-provenanced objects of high
quality. 1 Head of Tiberius, Roman, c. ad 14. Parian marble. Acquired by the
CarlosCollection of Ancient Art in 2003. Photo: Bruce White The turbulence
experienced by the antiquities market in recent years wasthought at times to
be severe enough to damage greatly, or even bring down,the entire trade.
Riddled with criminal convictions, lootings in Iraq,cancelled art fairs, new
import laws, and ever-growing restitution andprovenance demands, many
speculated that these issues were just too heavyfor the market to bear.
However, a surprising resilience and unexpectedbuoyancy has emerged during
the past year. This upswing is due in large partto the positive, proactive
stance taken by auction houses and privatedealers, who have proven that they
are willing and able to meet the growingdemands from museums and private
collectors for beautiful and legitimateobjects. This transformation has
slightly reduced the size of the market,which is now dominated by those
objects demonstrating importance, aestheticsand excellent provenance.
Compared to the huge prices realised in the modern and contemporary
marketslately, antiquities provide an excellent opportunity for the
collector whoseeks to purchase great art within a reasonable budget. The
global marketfor antiquities is still much undervalued, as great objects,
includingancient jewellery, can be purchased for as little as $1,000. Joanna
van derLande, director of antiquities at Bonhams in London, comments on
theirstrategy for attracting new buyers to the market: 'We strongly believe
inoffering the lower value lots of £1,000 and less which enable new
collectorsand dealers or those with a more modest pocket to participate in
thismarket.'This value-based approach is certainly a much-needed balance to
the manyworld records attained in the past year, a fact that has swayed
someestablished antiquities collectors to let go of part or all of
theircollections. Great works are now regularly surfacing at sales from
renownedprivate collections, giving the market a much-needed dose of
credibility andan infusion of excitement. Hicham Aboutaam, co-founder of
Phoenix AncientArt sa in Geneva, comments on this development: 'It has been
exciting to seethat the upsurge in prices has tempted some individuals whose
collectionshave been dormant for years to offer their possessions, which has
led tomore spectacular artworks coming to the market for the first time.'An
important new trend of 2003-2004 saw private collectors bidding
forthemselves for top lots at public auction. In December 2003, Christie's
inNew York sold an impressive Roman bronze figure of an emperor, dated to
the2nd/3rd century ad at $1,799,500, the year's highest price for any
antiquityat auction. It went from a renowned collector, Asher Edelman, to
anotherprivate collector. At Sotheby's sale in June 2004, six of the top ten
lotssold to private collectors, including two objects - an Egyptian granite
headof a king and a Syrian bronze figure of a warrior - selling to the same
NewYork private collector bidding for himself in the room. Also in June
2004,Christie's sale in New York had private collectors from the us and
Europebidding in full force, successfully obtaining seven of the top ten
lots,including a remarkable Roman marble torso of Hercules, of about the
1st-2ndcentury ad, sold to an American private collector for $791,500, a
worldauction record price for a Roman marble torso.This trend is due in part
to the positive changes made by the auctionhouses, which are making efforts
to publish as much of an object's knownhistory as possible. Dealers are
certainly aware of the growing demand fromcollectors and museums alike for
verifiable provenance. Robert Haber,director of Robert Haber & Co. Ancient
Art in New York, notes, 'Within thecomplex world of the ancient art market
it is becoming more apparent that agood provenance has a very positive
effect on the value of a work of ancientart.' However, Jasper Gaunt, curator
of Greek and Roman art at the Michael C.Carlos Museum in Atlanta asserts
that 'provenance is a crucial aspect thatmust be considered, but it is not
the overriding factor. Beauty andimportance are also significant: by far the
most important aspect toconsider when acquiring an object is the object
itself.' Among the worksrecently acquired by the Carlos Museum is arguably
one of the finest Romanimperial portraits in America and certainly the
finest portrait of theJulio-Claudian emperor Tiberius. Purchased by Gaunt
from the us trade in2003, with a provenance dating back to the 1960s, this
monumental marbleportrait is one of the most impressive acquisitions in the
museum's history.Collectors' demand for provenance has created another
interesting trend.Antiquities dealers that in previous years kept an
intentionally lowprofile, rarely opening their gallery doors to the public,
have recognisedthat education and connoisseurship are fundamental aspects of
keeping thetrade alive. Last year Ward & Co. held a museum-quality show of
Byzantineand medieval art at their Park Avenue gallery in New York. Phoenix
AncientArt plans to bring its Geneva exhibition 'Idols and Mediterranean
cultobjects' to its New York gallery this December. 2 Head of a nobleman
(The Josephson Head), Egyptian, c. 1878-41 bc. RedQuartzite, 18.5 x 24 x 21
cm. Acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,in 2003 from a private
collection. Open market estimate: in excess of $2million 3
Constable-Maxwell cage cup, c. ad 300. Blown or cast glass, diam 18.2
cm.Bonham's, London. Highly Important Antiquities (14 July 2004), £2.65m 4
Torso of Hercules, Roman, c. 1st-2nd century ad. Marble, ht 132
cm.Christie's, New York, Antiquities(8 June 2004), $791,500 Significant
acquisitions by museums throughout the world have also added apositive facet
to the antiquities market, as is revealed by the review onpages 50-55. Qatar
will soon be the beneficiary of a new museum in Doha thatwill house one of
the greatest ancient art collections known, if thepurchases made by Sheikh
Saud Al-Thani in recent years are any indication ofwhat will be on view.
Masterpieces recently acquired by the Sheikh arereported to include the
famous Constable-Maxwell cage-cup that sold for£2,646,650 at Bonhams in
London this July, breaking its own world record,set in 1997, for the highest
price ever paid for ancient glass. Asia is back on the purchasing scene
after a hiatus of several years. TheMiho Museum in Japan is home to some of
the finest western antiquities inthe world, and has quietly amassed their
collections by purchasing both atauction and through the trade. It
reportedly bought two important objects atthe sale at Christie's in London
in October 2004 of the Leo Mildenbergcollection of ancient animals (see
pages 62-63): the Middle Kingdom faiencehippopotamus that set a world record
for the highest price paid for Egyptianfaience (£621,250); and a
Mesopotamian inlaid limestone leopard dating fromthe 4th millennium bc. On
the occasion of the celebrations in 2003 of the centenary of the
Egyptiancollection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Rita Freed, chief
curatorof Egyptian art, was encouraged by the museum's director to acquire
oneincredible object that would enhance their already world-class
collection.Freed was able to purchase a masterpiece through the kindness of
renownedNew York collector Jack Josephson. Nicknamed 'Nobleman' but
formallyreferred to as The Josephson Head, this Middle Kingdom (Late Dynasty
XII,1878-1841 BC) quartzite portrait of a man is considered by many experts
tobe one of the finest Egyptian portraits known. Although the museum will
notdivulge the cost of the sculpture, it is thought that it would easily
sellin the $2 million-range on the open market. The December New York
antiquities sales continue to impress, includingbeautiful objects with solid
and interesting provenances, such as the famous'Marlborough cameo' at
Christie's (see pages 40-41). In turn, Sotheby's willoffer the Charles
Pankow collection of Egyptian art, one of the largestprivate collections of
fine Egyptian antiquities to appear on the market inrecent memory, assembled
in the 1970s and early 1980s. Among the manyhighlights are an alabaster jar
inscribed for King Merneptah (1213-1204 BC)discovered in the king's tomb by
Howard Carter shortly before he discoveredthe tomb of Tutankhamun, and an
impressive bronze figure of the god Osiris,formerly in the renowned Hilton
Price collection, which was sold bySotheby's, London, in 1911. Notable
recent prices 2002-2004Western antiquitiesRoman bronze figure of an emperor,
c. 2nd-3rd century ad, (Christie's, NewYork, 11 December 2003) -
$1,034,195Greek marble head of a horse, 6th century BC, (Boisgirad, Paris, 7
October2004) - ?2,849,259Roman fluorspar cup ('The Barber cup'), c. AD 1st
century, (Charles Ede,London, January 2004) - £150,000The 'Constable-Maxwell
cup', c. ad 300, (Bonham's, London, 14 July 2004) -£2,646,650Egyptian
faience hippopotamus, (Christie's, London, 27 October
2004) -£621,250Egyptian limestone bust of a man, 5th Dynasty, 2520-2360 BC,
(Sotheby's, NewYork, 9 December 2003) - $232,000 End of articleFor
information, contact "Hicham Aboutaam" at Phoenix Ancient Art
athttp://www.phoenixancientart.com/contactphoenixancientart.html

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