Some scholars think this may have been a talisman to ward off evil spirits. This hand carved sculpture with clenched fists has both human qualities combined with animal features. The lioness herself is a symbol of power and it is believed to have been owned by someone of great importance. That is partly what makes this sculpture so extraordinary. Coincidentally, this is the same time of the development of writing, currency, the first use of the wheel, and the first cities were to emerge. It is dated circa 3000-2800 BC and is probably of Magnesite or crystalline limestone. This mighty sculpture, probably from Elam, in the region of ancient Mesopotamia (now modern day Iran), was found at a site near Baghdad. What brought world attention to this otherwise quiet auction is that this mini sculpture, known as the Guennol Lioness, sold for the highest amount of any statue ever, a mind boggling $57,161,000. This would be where an individual or institution might acquire a valuable, historical item. In December 2007, Sotheby’s auction house in New York had its antiquities sale. A 5000 year old Mesopotamian stone lioness measuring a mere 3 1/4" high brings record sales for any type of sculpture. Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,Īnecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week. Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography, William Cobbing - Gradiva Project at The Freud MuseumĬhristo and Jeanne-Claude to Lecture at the AGNSW Kirsten Hassenfeld Exhibition To Close at Rice Gallery Manuel Mendive at Museum of Anthropology and History of Yucatan Scope Miami 2007 Opens Sixth Edition Today NIU Art Museum Celebrates an Asian Art Collector's Gift The Guennol Lioness Sells For $57.2 Million Sotheby's Sells JMW Turner's Watercolour, Bamborough Castle For GBP 2.9 Million The proceeds of the auction will benefit a charitable trust formed by the Martin Family. The Guennol Lioness had been on view at the Brooklyn Museum of Art for nearly 60 years and extensively published. The sculpture was acquired in 1948 by Alastair Bradley Martin and his wife Edith, whose revered Guennol Collection of choice masterworks across countless periods and cultures has been celebrated by scholars and museums for decades. Its creation was contemporaneous with the first known use of the wheel, the development of writing, and the emergence of the first cities. The sale was 97% sold by lot and 100% sold by value with 80% of the sold lots exceeding their high estimate.ĭiminutive in size, but monumental in conception, The Guennol Lioness was created approximately 5,000 years ago in the region of ancient Mesopotamia. $16.7/22.2 million), the highest total ever for a sale in this category. The Guennol Lioness was included in a sale of Antiquities which brought a total of $64,955,839 (est. Hildesley brought the hammer down to several rounds of applause, the successful bidder, who was standing in the salesroom, would only identify himself as an English buyer who wishes to remain anonymous. An intense battle ensued between that bidder and one determined client on the phone. When the bidding reached $27 million, a new bidder, standing in the back of the salesroom, raised his paddle for the first time. After auctioneer Hugh Hildesley opened the bidding at $8.5 million, four bidders jumped into the fray. Before the sale, a great connoisseur of art commented to us that he always regarded the figure as the finest sculpture on earth and it would appear that the market agreed with him!Ī total of five different bidders, three on the telephone and two in the room, competed for the 3 ¼ inch limestone treasure. Keresey and Florent Heintz, experts in charge of todays sale said, It was an honor for us to handle The Guennol Lioness, one of the greatest works of art of all time. NEW YORK.- This afternoon, in a packed salesroom at Sothebys, The Guennol Lioness, one of the last known masterworks from the dawn of civilization remaining in private hands, sold for a remarkable $57,161,000, a record for any sculpture at auction.i That outstanding price also eclipsed the previous record for an Antiquity at auction and more than tripled the pre-sale high estimate of $18 million.
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