Lot 23
  • 23

A Roman Marble Figure of Asklepios, circa 3rd Century A.D.

Estimate
60,000 - 90,000 GBP
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Description

  • A Roman Marble Figure of Asklepios
  • Marble
  • Total height 50 cm. 19 11/16 in.; height without plinth 44.4 cm. 17 1/2 in.
standing on a profiled base with the weight on his left leg, his left arm akimbo and holding a staff with entwined serpent in his right hand, and wearing a himation falling from his left shoulder and leaving the upper chest bare, his head turned to his right, his face with full curled beard and moustache, and long centrally parted hair falling in long spiral curls over the ears and nape of the neck; no restorations.

Provenance

said to have been found in the 19th Century at Kyzikos on the Propontis in ancient Mysia
the Ottoman diplomat Janko/Yanko (Bey) Aristarchi, a.k.a. Iohannes Aristarchis (1811-1897), Berlin and Baghdad
Alexander Iolas (1907-1987), Athens and New York, acquired between 1950 and 1965, probably in New York or Paris
European private collection, 1980-1982
Ophiuchus Collection, London, 1982-2013

Literature

Salomon Reinach, Répertoire de la statuaire grecque et romaine, vol. 5, Paris, 1924, p. 535, no. 1 (“Albâtre. Cyzique. Coll. Janko-Bey”)
Hebe Darcey, "All that Glitters is Gold," Vogue Magazine, vol. 171, 1981 or 1982, pp. 292-296, illus. (when with Alexander Iolas, photograph reversed)
Carlos Picón, Classical Antiquities from Private Collections in Great Britain. A Loan Exhibition in Aid of the Ashmole Archive, Sotheby's, exh. cat., London, 1986, p. 41, no. 44, pl. 8
Axel Filges, "Marmorstatuetten aus Kleinasien," Istanbuler Mitteilungen, vol. 49, 1999, p. 428, no. 20
Brigitte Freyer-Schauenburg, "Asklepios, die Buchrolle und das Ei. Zu einem Asklepiostorso auf Samos und weiteren Repliken des Typus Amelung," Il Mar Nero, vol. 8, 2010/11, p. 156, no. U/Add33

Condition

head (belonging) broken and repaired, broken through proper left lower leg and mantle and proper right foot, small fill on top of proper right foot, chip on bunched mantle across chest, the back heavily encrusted, minor chips and abrasions.
"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

The present statuette is a miniature copy of the most widely distributed type of Asklepios, the Amelung-type, in which the god feeds an egg to the serpent. For this type see Freyer-Schauenburg (op. cit.), pp. 133ff. A head from another statuette of this type was sold at Sotheby’s New York. June 4th, 2009, no. 143, another at Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, May 4th, 1973, no. 196.

On the first known modern owner of this sculpture see De bagdad à Berlin: L'itinéraire de Janko Aristarchi Bey diplomate ottoman. Correspondance officielle et privée I, Bagdad (1846-1852), and II, Berlin (1854-1892), 2008.

Janko Bey also owned a marble head of a youth, which is now in Dresden: K. Knoll, et al., eds., Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Katalog der antiken Bildwerke, vol. 2, 2011, pp. 683ff., no. 158.