Lot 23
  • 23

A Marble Figure of a Satyr Playing the Pipe, Roman Imperial, circa 1st Century A.D., with 18th Century Restorations

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 USD
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Description

  • A Marble Figure of a Satyr Playing the Pipe
  • marble
  • Height 44 1/8 in. 112.1 cm.
the ancient torso after Skopas’s statue of Pothos of the later 4th Century B.C.; the base, support, feet, arms, left shoulder, and neck restored, the head ancient but not belonging.

Provenance

James Hugh Smith Barry (1746-1801), Belmont and Marbury Hall, Northwich, Cheshire
by descent to Lord Barrymore, Marbury Hall (Sotheby's, London, July 29th, 1946, no. 151)
Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962), New York
The Kevorkian Foundation, New York (Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, Art of the Near East and Orient, Classical Antiquities, Property of the Kevorkian Foundation, February 25th-26th, 1966, no. 273)
Jerome Eisenberg, New York, 1966

Literature

James Dallaway, Anecdotes of the Arts in England, London, 1800, p. 355
A Catalogue of Paintings, Statues, Busts, &c. at Marbury Hall, the Seat of John Smith Barry Esq. In the County of Chester, Warrington, 1819
John Preston Neale, Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, 2nd series, vol. V, London, 1829
Comte de Clarac, Musée de sculpture antique et moderne, vol. IV, Paris, 1850, pl. 704a, no. 1683c
Alexander Conze, Archäologischer Anzeiger, vol. 186, June 1864, col. 237
Johannes Adolf Overbeck, Griechische Kunstmythologie, vol. III/5, Leipzig, 1889, p. 242, no. 8
Wilhelm Klein, Praxiteles, Leipzig, 1898, p. 122, n. 10
Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, vol. I, Paris, 1906, p. 397, no. 3
F. Eichler, "Ein antiker Marmortorso in Wiener Privatbesitz," Belvedere, XII-XIII, 1928, p. 132, n. 1
P. Arndt and G. Lippold, Photographische Einzelaufnahmen Antiker Sculpturen, Serie XI, Munich, 1929, col. 28, no. 3099
Heinrich Bulle, “Zum Pothos des Skopas,” Jahrbuch des Deutschen archäologischen Instituts, vol. 56, 1941, p. 148c
Giovanni Beccatti, “Il Pothos di Scopa,” Le Arti. Rassegna bimestrale dell’Arte Antica e Moderna, year 3, fasc. 3, August-September 1941, p. 402, no. 17 (repr. in G. Beccatti, Kosmos. Studi sul mondo classico, Rome, 1987, p. 64)
Cornelius C. Vermeule, "Notes on a New Edition of Michaelis: Ancient Marbles in Great Britain," American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 59, 1955, p. 142
Jerome Eisenberg, New York, Art of the Ancient World, vol. II, December 1966, no. 27, illus.
Andrew Stewart, Skopas of Paros, Park Ridge, New Jersey, 1977, p. 145, no. 27
Jonathan Scott, The Pleasures of Antiquity: British Collectors of Greece and Rome, New Haven, 2003, fig. 106
Sotheby's, New York, June 4th, 2014, no. 12, illus.
Arachne, no. 51445 (http://arachne.uni-koeln.de/item/objekt/51445)

Condition

Restored as described. Surface of the ancient core weathered overall. Repair across proper left thigh. Testicles recut and phallus formerly restored, now fragmentary. Patch of restoration on proper right side of abdomen. Upper back restored. Fingers and flute fragmentary as shown. Top of lagobolon missing and tail of animal skin in back repaired from three pieces. Small section of draped animal skin and one toe from skin missing in back. Head weathered with scattered chips and surface abrasions. Lower lip restored in marble. Gland on proper right side of neck formerly restored in plaster. Nose restored in marble. Extremities of wreath are chipped, weathered, and flaking. Face most likely repolished.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

For a similar torso of Pothos in Dresden see K. Knoll, Götter und Menschen. Antike Meisterwerke der Skulpturensammlung, Dresden, 2000, p. 15, no. 5 (http://arachne.uni-koeln.de/item/objekt/5252).