Lot 33
  • 33

A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF APOLLO, CIRCA 1ST CENTURY A.D. | A Roman Marble Head of Apollo

Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 GBP
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Description

  • Height 12.7 cm.
turned to his right, his youthful face with bow-shaped lips and straight nose, his centrally parted hair radiating from the crown, bound in a fillet, brushed up over the temples and ears, and surmounted by a laurel wreath, no restoration.

Provenance

Hatchik Sevadjian, Paris (Sotheby’s, London, May 20th-21st, 1930, no. 417 [part], pl. VIII, unsold)
by descent to the present owner

Literature

Sotheby's, London, July 9th-10th, 1984, no. 288, illus.
Sotheby's, London, November 29th, 2017, no. 37, illus.

Condition

Good condition as shown. Sharp cut across base of neck. Face more polished than hair, which is slightly weathered. Areas of minor incrustation, minute nicks and scratches throughout.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Hatchik Sevadjian was born in Istanbul to Armenian parents in 1884. His father, a goldsmith at  the Sultan's court, moved with his family to Antwerp in 1897 and settled in Paris in 1902 as a dealer in precious stones. As a connoisseur art dealer, Hatchik’s passion for art led him to collect and deal in Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Indian antiquities, as well as in works by 19th-century French painters, such as Delacroix, Renoir, Monet, Degas, Courbet, Van Gogh, and Pissaro. In 1930, adversely affected by the stock market crash of the previous year, he offered for sale anonymously part of his antiquities collection at auction at Sotheby's in London under the general designation "The Property of a Collector" (the present lot and lot 27 in the present catalogue remained unsold in the 1930 sale and both passed by direct descent to the present owner, to whom we are expressly grateful for the information contained in the present note). Other sales of paintings and antiquities from Sevadjian's collection and stock followed in Paris in 1932 and 1934, some of them mentioning his name. One of Hatchik's most prized objects, a 2nd-Century Indian sandstone sculpture known as the “Serpent King”, is now one of the major exhibits at the Musée Guimet (inv. no. MG 18214).