Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (Lucca 1708 - 1787 Rome). Studies of a torso, a head and a foot, ca. 1740. Red chalk on paper. 43x28,5cm. Preliminary study for the 'Sacrifice of Iphigenia' (National Galleries of Scotland). From a European private collection; Richard L. Feigen Gallery, New-York
During the 18th century, the story of Iphigenia was an important subject and a source of creativity. In Greek mythology, Iphigenia appears as the Greek fleet gathers in Aulis to prepare for war against Troy. At Aulis, the leader of the Greeks, Agamemnon, accidentally kills a deer in a grove sacred to the goddess Artemis, who punishes him by preventing his fleet from sailing to Troy. The seer Calchas reveals that, to appease Artemis, he must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. Agamemnon at first refuses but eventually agrees, pressured by the other commanders.
Lot 1
Starting price: 2000€
Rudolph Friederich Kurz (Bern 1818 - 1871 Bern). Animals fleeing a fire, October 1858. Oil on canvas. 110x75cm. Signed and dated lower right. From a European private collection; Galerie Bollag 1943 (27 November) lot 46
Kurz was a Swiss painter and writer who ventured to United States in order to paint and study the native Americans. He is mostly known on account of his journals, in which he presents an account of and an interesting commentary on life in the 19th century along the Mississippi and Missouri. He even married the daughter's leader of an Iowa Indian group but the marriage did not last. At the end of April 1852, he noted that "at this season of the year Indians set the prairie on fire in order to remove the old, dried grass and provide room for the young, tender growth... All animals, both domestic and wild, flee in terror from the smoke and flame of a prairie fire".
Lot 2
Starting price: 6000€
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Albi 1864 - 1901 Malromé). Head of a woman, ca. 1892. Pencil on paper. 11x10,5cm. Dortu D.3282, illustrated page 540. From a European private collection; Phillips 1990 (27 June) lot 10; Göteborg Konstmuseum 1955 (2-27 September) lot 26; former Vladimir Raykis (1898-1966) collection; former Maurice Bunau-Varilla (1856-1944) collection, Drouot 1947 (9-10 July) lot 9
Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter, printmaker, draftsman, caricaturist, and illustrator whose immersion in the colorful life of Paris in the late 19th century allowed him to produce charming and provocative images of the modern - sometimes decadent - affairs of those times. He is one of the best-known painters of the Post-Impressionist period, with Vincent van Paul Cézanne, and Paul Gauguin.
Lot 3
Starting price: 2000€
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Albi 1864 - 1901 Malromé). Aux Variétés: Mademoiselle Lender, Brasseur, 1893. Lithograph printed in olive-green. 49,6x28,6cm. Signed in pencil and inscribed 'N°1' lower left. Delteil 41; Adhémar 44. Unobtrusive tear upper right. From a European private collection; Phillips 1990 (25 June) lot 477
Toulouse-Lautrec had a passion for the theater in all its forms, from the popular dance halls and cabarets to the avant-garde theaters of Paris. He was both a keen spectator and an active participant, designing posters, theater programs, scenery, and costumes for a number of theaters. Among his favorite subjects was the famous actress Marcelle Lender. He first encountered her in 1893, the year he began to attend the theater on a regular basis. The lithograph illustrates a scene of 'Le premier mari de France' with Marcelle Lender and Albert Brasseur, a vaudeville from Albin Valabregues.
Lot 4
Starting price: 2000€
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Albi 1864 - 1901 Malromé). Cyclist (Michael), 1895. Pencil on paper. 9,5x13cm. Dortu D.4252, illustrated p. 742. Preliminary study for the poster 'Le Cycle Michael' (cf. Delteil 359). From a European private collection; Phillips 1990 (27 June) lot 13; Göteborg Konstmuseum 1955 (2-27 September) lot 23; former Vladimir Raykis (1898-1966) collection; former Maurice Bunau-Varilla (1856-1944) collection, Drouot 1947 (9-10 July) lot 9
Toulouse-Lautrec was an enthusiastic fan of sporting events, emphasizing the late 19th-century French bicycling fervor. He became friends with 'Spoke', alias Louis Bouglé, who had a young prodigy in his team, Jimmy Michael (1877-1904); this one was a renowned Welsh world cycling champion and one of the top riders in the sport for several years.
Lot 5
Starting price: 2000€
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Albi 1864 - 1901 Malromé), with Georges Clémenceau. Au pied du Sinaï, Floury, Paris, 1897. 26,4x20,3cm. Lithographs on Arches, the set of twenty, ten printed in green on chine, ten in black on velin; number 380 from the full edition of 380; with lithographic cover printed in colours; with title, text and justification page; with margins, insignificant foxing on the suite on chine and in the text, otherwise, good condition. From a European private collection; Phillips 1990 (25 June) lot 480
Nicknamed ‘the Tiger’, Georges Clémenceau was an esteemed French statesman and journalist. This book is a collection of stories that details the history and lives of Jewish people. Although not directly associated with the Dreyfus affair, this book deals with a politically charged subject, taking on a particular sociological meaning. 'Au pied du Sinaï' can thus be viewed as Toulouse-Lautrec’s only foray into the political arena.
Lot 6
Starting price: 2000€
Emiliano Di Cavalcanti (Rio de Janeiro 1897 - 1976 Rio de Janeiro). Brazilian girl. Pastel and watercolor on paper. 45x39 cm. Monogram lower right. From a European private collection; 51 Gallery 2015 (28 April) lot 40; former Kirwan collection; former Haitian private collection
Lot 7
Starting price: 4000€
Nikolay Millioti (Moscow 1874 - 1962 Paris). Boni de Castellane, ca. 1927. Oil on cardboard. 75x53cm. 'Exposition Millioti au Premier' on back. Preliminary study of Christie's 2012 (28 May) lot 82; Galerie Charpentier 1938 (10-24 May) lot 1. From a European private collection; 51 Gallery 2015 (28 April) lot 105; former C.V. collection
Lot 8
Starting price: 2000€
Pablo Picasso (Malaga 1881 - 1973 Mougins). Minotaur with a cup in hand, young woman, 1933. Etching on Montval laid paper. 26.5x19cm. Signed in pencil lower right. Unnumbered edition of 260 published by Ambroise Vollard (Suite Vollard 83) and printed by Roger Lacourière. Bloch 190. From a European private collection; Galerie Michael, Beverly Hills
This print marks the first appearance of the Minotaur in the famous 'Vollard Suite'. Although the one hundred etchings in the suite are lacking in narrative unity, Picasso’s images appear to relate a personal odyssey. In adopting this Minotaur as his alter ego, the artist removes the creature from its dark labyrinth in the Palace of Knossos and places the beast in the artist’s bright studio, where he raises a toast alongside a beautiful young model (probably Marie-Thérèse Walter).
Lot 9
Starting price: 6000€
Fernand Léger (Argentan 1881 - 1955 Gif-sur-Yvette). Butterflies in the wheel, 1944. Oil of canvas. 52.9x43.3cm. Signed and dated lower right. Bauquier 1159, illustrated page 17. From a European private collection; Sotheby's 2016 (01 June) lot 20; former American private collection; Pers Galleries, New-York; Valentine Gallery 1935 (9 April - 5 May) lot 15
'Les papillons dans la roue' is an emblematic work of Fernand Léger’s American period when he spent the years of the second World War in exile in the United States, from 1941 to 1945. During his summer stay at Rouses Point in Northern New York State, he was impressed by various objects abandoned next to a farm, and the disused machinery, invaded by overgrown thorns, birds nests and insects proved to be a powerful source of visual inspiration for him. 'Butterflies in the wheel' perfectly illustrates the eminently poetic and singular world of the artist. This painting was moreover a part of the prestigious collection of the New York dealer Valentine Dudensing in the 1940s. Her gallery was then considered as the temple of modernism, presenting the greatest artists of the time such as Picasso, Braque, Matisse and Mondrian.
Lot 10
Starting price: 400000€
An Egyptian polychrome wood coffin mask. 3rd intermediate period (1070-735 BC). 25cm high. From an esteemed American collection; formerly acquired in the 1970s
Lot 11
Starting price: 6000€
An Egyptian faience ushabti. 6th-5th century BC. 13.3cm high. From an esteemed American collection; formerly acquired in the 1970-1980s
Lot 12
Starting price: 600€
A Egyptian stone statue of Isis protecting the Pharaoh. Ptolemaic period, 3rd-2nd century BC. 21.6cm high. From an esteemed American collection; former Lord William Tyssen-Amherst (1835-1909) collection
Tyssen-Amherst is chiefly remembered as a collector of books, manuscripts, antique furniture and other works of art. He became famous for his Egyptian collection, for which he built a museum in Didlington Hall, his country home. In the early 1900s, he was unfortunately forced to sell large parts of his collection... after discovering that his estate and certain trust funds had been entirely dissipated at the hands of an untrustworthy solicitor.
Lot 13
Starting price: 10000€
A Rhodian terracotta antefix of a woman's head. 6th century BC. 22cm high. From an esteemed American collection; former European private collection
Lot 14
Starting price: 10000€
A Greek terracotta head. 5th century BC. 22cm high. From an esteemed American collection; former European private collection
Lot 15
Starting price: 10000€
A Greek carved amber head of a satyr. 6th century BC. 7cm high. From an esteemed American collection
Lot 16
Starting price: 6000€
A Minoan piriform terracotta jar. Late Minoan IIIA2-IIIB (14th-13th century BC). 31cm high. From an esteemed American collection; Sotheby's 2003 (12 June) lot 1
Lot 17
Starting price: 10000€
A Canosan volute krater. Early 3rd century BC. 30cm high. From a European private collection; Drees Gallery, Brussels
Lot 18
Starting price: 600€
An Apulian terracotta lekythos with bridal scene. 4th century BC. 29cm high. From an esteemed American collection
A few specific types of the Apulian terracotta vessels were reserved for the bridal rituals; among them a lekythos is a container for scented oil. The bride and groom are represented seated on a very richly ornamented couch with striped pillows. According to the hairstyle (long spiral locks) and ivy wreath of the young man, wrapped in a long himation but exposing his ideally shaped torso, he is not a mortal but Dionysos greeting his Ariadne. The young woman - elegantly dressed and bejeweled - holds an ornamented mirror as a symbol of her irresistible beauty.
Lot 19
Starting price: 10000€
An Apulian terracotta lekythos. 4th century BC. 17.1cm high. Kokusai Bijutsu 1974 lot 52 (illustrated). From an esteemed American collection; Sotheby's 2008 (5 June) lot 93; former Chikara Watanabe collection
Lot 20
Starting price: 2000€
An Apulian gnathia ware situla. 4th Century BC. 20cm high. From an esteemed American collection; formerly acquired in the 1970-1980s
Gnathia vases are named after the ancient city of Gnathia (now Egnazia) in eastern Apulia. There, the first examples of the style were discovered in the mid-19th century. The themes depicted include images from the life of women, theatre scenes, dionysiac motifs...
Lot 21
Starting price: 1000€
A Greek core-formed glass amphoriskos. 3rd century BC. 10.3cm high. From an esteemed American collection
Lot 22
Starting price: 2000€
A Roman solid cast bronze weight depicting a young boy. 1st-3rd century AD. 8cm high. From an esteemed American collection; former German private collection
Lot 23
Starting price: 2000€
A Roman bronze figure of Isis-Fortuna. 2nd Century AD. 14.5cm high. From an esteemed American collection; Sotheby's 2000 (8 December) lot 104
Fortuna was the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, thanks to the author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at least the Renaissance. Often depicted with a 'Gubernaculum' (ship's rudder), a ball or 'Rota Fortunae' (wheel of fortune, first mentioned by Cicero) or a cornucopia (horn of plenty), she might bring good or bad luck. Fortuna came to represent life's capriciousness.
Lot 24
Starting price: 10000€
A Roman yellow-green glass jug. First half of the 1st century AD. 9.50cm high. From an esteemed American collection; former Geoffrey Sowas collection, Christie's 2013 (6 June) lot 514; Faustus Fine Art, London
Lot 25
Starting price: 4000€
A Roman blue ribbed glass jug. Second half of the 1st century AD. 7.9cm high. From an esteemed American collection; former Geoffrey Sowas collection, Christie's 2013 (6 June) lot 512; former Ronald and Noele Mele collection
Lot 26
Starting price: 2000€
A Roman blue glass jug. 1st century AD. 4.4cm high. From an esteemed American collection
Lot 27
Starting price: 1000€
A Roman blue glass amphoriskos. 1st century AD. 5.75cm high. From an esteemed American collection
The earliest glassware made by the blowing and molding technique dates from the first century AD; it was this technique that was principally responsible for the swift spread and evolution of the Roman taste for glassware. This amphoriskos or little amphora bears witness to the extraordinary popularity that this form enjoyed in the Roman Empire.
Lot 28
Starting price: 2000€
A Roman glass aryballos. 1st-2nd century AD. 6.6cm high. From an esteemed American collection
An aryballos is a small spherical, or globular, flask with a narrow neck. It was used to contain perfume or oil, and is often depicted in vase paintings being used by athletes during bathing. In these depictions, the vessel is sometimes attached by a strap to the athlete's wrist, or hung by a strap from a peg on the wall.
Lot 29
Starting price: 2000€
A Roman ribbed glass flask. 3rd-4th century AD. 15cm high. From an esteemed American collection