Sotheby’s winter sale of Antiquities brought a total of $30,918,375, soaring past the $5/7.6 million estimate, with 84% of the lots sold.* The sale was led by A Marble Group of Leda and the Swan, Roman Imperial, circa 2nd Century A.D which sold for $19,122,500 (est. $2/3 million). The sculpture was sought by four bidders before eventually selling to an anonymous purchaser bidding over the telephone. The competition included an online bidder who participated up to $16.5 million. Leda and the Swan was recently discovered in Aske Hall, North Yorkshire and had been in the collection of the Marques of Zetland since 1789.
Marble Group of Leda and the Swan, Roman Imperial, circa 2nd Century A.D which sold for $19,122,500 (est. $2/3 million). Photo: Sotheby’s.
An Egyptian Basalt Head of a King, Early Ptolemaic Period, Reign of Ptolemy I/III, circa 304-200 B.C. from the Collection of Dodie Rosekrans, the late San Francisco philanthropist and collector, sold to an online bidder for $3,722,500 (est. $100/150,000). This is the highest price paid by an online bidder in a live auction at Sotheby’s.
Other strong prices from the Rosekrans collection included A Marble Head Of Zeus Ammon, Roman Imperial, Circa A.D. 120-160, which sold for $3,554,500 and was purchased by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (est. $800,000/1.2 million), and An Egyptian Black Basalt Head Of Tuthmosis III, 18th Dynasty, Reign Of Tuthmosis III, 1479-1426 B.C, which sold to an online bidder for $602,500 (est. $150/250,000).
Sale Results
• A Marble Group of Leda and the Swan, Roman Imperial, circa 2nd century A.D. – $19,122,500 (£12,179,161) (€14,281,287).
• An Egyptian Basalt Head of a King, Early Ptolemaic Period, Reign of Ptolemy I/III, circa 304-200 B.C.$3,722,500 (£2,370,868) (€2,780,081).
• A Marble Head of Zeus Ammon, Roman Imperial, circa A.D. 120-160 – $3,554,500 (£2,263,869) (€2,654,613)
• An Egyptian Black Basalt Head of Tuthmosis III, 18th Dynasty, Reign of Tuthmosis III, 1479-1426 B.C. – $602,500 (£383,734) (€449,966)
• A Marble Head of a Hellenistic Prince, circa 1st century B.C./1st Century A.D. – $602,500 (£383,734) (€449,966)
• A Cycladic Marble Figure of a Goddess, Early Bronze Age II, circa 2600-2500 B.C. – $362,500 (£230,877) (€270,726)
• A Greek Gold Diadem, 1st Half of the 4th Century B.C. – $218,500 (£139,163) (€163,183)
• An Egyptian Greywacke Bust of a Man, 26th Dynasty, Reign of Psamtik I, circa 664-610 B.C. – $206,500 (£131,520) (€154,221)
• A Roman Marble Strigillated Dionysiac Sarcophagus, 3rd century A.D. – $206,500 (£131,520) (€154,221)
• A Marble Head of Zeus, Roman Imperial, Eastern Mediterranean, circa A.D. 150-180 – $206,500 (£131,520) (€154,221)