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23A Monumental Granite Figure of Sekhmet Enthroned, Thebes, 18th Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III, 1403-1365 B.C.A Monumental Granite Figure of Sekhmet Enthroned, ThebesLOT SOLD.4,170,000USD -
22A Large Egyptian Wood Mummy Mask, 25th/early 26th Dynasty, circa 750-600 B.C.A Large Egyptian Wood Mummy MaskLOT SOLD.1,450,000USD -
5A Fragmentary Egyptian Red Granite head of Amenhotep III, 18th Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III, 1390-1353 B.C.A Fragmentary Egyptian Red Granite head of Amenhotep IIILOT SOLD.1,330,000USD -
6An Egyptian Steatite Figure of the Lady Iset, Chantress of Sobek, 19th Dynasty, Reign of Ramesses I/early in the Reign of Ramesses II, circa 1292-1250 B.C.An Egyptian Steatite Figure of the Lady Iset, Chantress of SobekLOT SOLD.760,000USD -
4An Egyptian Basalt Bust of Tuthmosis III, 18th Dynasty, reign of Tuthmosis III, 1479-1426 B.C.An Egyptian Basalt Bust of Tuthmosis IIILOT SOLD.250,000USD -
26An Egyptian Basalt Figure of a Man, 30th Dynasty/early Ptolemaic Period, 380-200 B.C.An Egyptian Basalt Figure of a ManLOT SOLD.187,500USD
Overview
Results: The December 8th sale of Ancient Egyptian Sculpture and Works of Art totaled a strong $8,986,500, over the high pre-sale estimate. The top lot was the monumental Granite Figure of Sekhmet from the collection of A. Alfred Taubman, which sold for $4.17 million.
Details: On December 8, 2015, Sotheby's will present a sale almost exclusively dedicated to ancient Egyptian sculpture and works of art, the first auction of its kind in recent memory.
Highlights include a fine small-scale basalt bust of King Tuthmosis III, an imposing over-lifesize fragmentary red granite head of King Amenhotep III from the last ten years of his reign, and a monumental granite enthroned figure of the goddess Sekhmet, once the property of John Lennon, and a world record for Egyptian art when first sold at Sotheby's, New York in 1986, when it was acquired by A. Alfred Taubman. All three sculptures date to the 18th Dynasty. The sale also includes an elegant steatite statuette of the Lady Iset , priestess of the god Sobek, dating to the early 19th Dynasty. She is shown seated alone, without her husband at her side, a rare representation for its time. Her tighly fitted pleated garment reveals her silhouette.
Among the funerary works of art are two magnificent masks: a beautifully haunting wood mask with inlaid eyes, once in the collection of Helena Rubinstein, 25th/26th Dynasty, and an imposing limestone mask carved with a serene expression, 30th Dynasty/early Ptolemaic Period. The funerary arts are also represented by four exceptional ushabti figures, including one of the finest and best preserved ushabtis of Neferibresaneith, 26th Dynasty, of which Sotheby's has sold an impressive number of the years.
The sale also includes several beautiful Egyptian necklaces from the DuBois Collection which was formed in the early 20th Century. From outside Egypt come a fine Greek bronze griffin protome, an impressive Canaanite copper figure of a deity, and a Persian gold belt fragment formerly in the Ernest Erickson collection.
