Sekhemka – Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014
The rape of a Sabine by Giambologna. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2014.
AN Egyptian painted limestone statue dating to the Old Kingdom, Late Dynasty was the top lot at The Exceptional Sale at Christie’s in London tonight. The statue for the Inspector of the Scribes Sekhemka sold for £15,762,500 and set a world record price at auction for an Ancient Egyptian work of art. The Exceptional Sale realised £31,048,50, the highest total for any various-owner sale of classical decorative arts. It broke the record of £28.7million established by Christie’s Exceptional Sale in 2011. The statue of Sekhemka dates to circa 2400–2300 B.C. and it is probably from Saqqara in Lower Egypt.
Robert Copley, Deputy Chairman Christie’s UK, International Head of Furniture said: ‘The finest and rarest examples achieved exceptional prices as increasingly multi-national bidders competed for works of exceptional quality. Several records were set including Giambologna’s ‘The Rape of A Sabine’, which realised £3.6 million, surpassing the previous record for the artist set by this work when it last came to the market at Christie’s 25 years ago. Following the inaugural Exceptional auction in 2008, these results build on Christie’s success with this pioneering sales platform. It continues to demonstrate the enduring appeal of individual masterpieces, which were highly admired over the past few weeks while they have been exhibited alongside highlights of the Old Master, Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art in London.’
(See posts on antiquesandartireland.com for July 7 and June 17 2014)