JP Munro
The Hand of Sabazius
Lot Closed
September 29, 03:01 PM GMT
Estimate
2,000 - 4,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
JP Munro
b. 1975
The Hand of Sabazius
Executed in 2010.
gouache on paper
24 by 18 in. (60.96 by 45.72 cm.)
Please note that while this auction is hosted on Sothebys.com, it is being administered by the Art Institute of Chicago’s Society for Contemporary Art (the “SCA”), and all post-sale matters (inclusive of invoicing and property pickup/shipment) will be handled by the SCA. As such, Sotheby’s will share the contact details for the winning bidders with the SCA so that they may be in touch directly post-sale.
Courtesy of the artist and International Art Objects Galleries, Los Angeles
JP Munro paints elaborate scenes of epic battles, opulent feasts, orgiastic celebrations, and pagan rituals. He borrows subject matter from a vast array of historical sources, ranging from Greek mythology to Chinese antiquity. This work on paper is modeled after statuettes used to worship the ancient god Sabazios, whose devotion began in Phrygia or Thrace in the fifth century B.C. and later became popular in the Roman Empire. The Romans associated Sabazios with Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility, and made bronze votives of Sabazios’s hand with symbols of regeneration such as snakes and birds. Munro’s version features a lounging figure in a hollowed alcove, an eye in the palm, and a mysterious shadow behind the hand.
Exhibitions of Munro’s work have been held at the International Art Objects Galleries (formerly China Art Objects Galleries), Los Angeles; Sadie Coles HQ, London; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, London, among others.
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