THE DEVOTED CLASSICIST
NEW YORK – 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 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).
