The depiction of divinities across cultures is a unifying theme across several diverse objects in The One. Some of the juxtapositions are intriguing: on the one hand you have one of the oldest works in the sale, the Guennol Olmec Head of a Deity whose depicted with a human skull but the jaw of a jaguar, looking fierce and otherworldly in its abstraction contrasted with a head of Buddha from the Sukothai kingdom in Thailand, whose features are so idealized that they appear otherworldly in their utter perfection. This otherworldliness is mirrored in the depictions of Christian imagery, including a Gothic head of an Apostle from the Upper Rhine, a beatific relief of Christ the Redeemer by Simone Bianco and workshop, Russian icons depicting prophets and archangels, and a unique relief of the Madonna and child by Simone da Maiano and Benedetto Buglioni.
The One Sale will take place on 27 January at Sotheby’s New York.
