Monthly Archives: June 2017

Intaglios at Christies July 5 Auction — RESULTS

RESULTS FROM THE JULY 5 AUCTION CAN BE FOUND AT:  http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=6084707&lid=1 for Lot 85; the rest of the cameo and intaglio Lots follow that page. 

Christie’s at King Street in London has 26 lots of ancient cameos and intaglios up for sale at its July 5, 2017 Antiquities Auction.  They are Lot Nos. 85 to 110.
The auction information and catalog can be viewed at http://www.christies.com/salelanding/index.aspx?intsaleid=26821&saletitle=  

From the catalog:  “Sangiorgi Collection.  Giorgio Sangiorgi (1886-1965) was a principle of the most renowned art-dealing family in Rome… As a private collector, Sangiorgi assembled an important ancient glass collection, which he published in 1914 (Collezione de Vetri Antichi dalle Origini al V Sec. D.C., ordinati e descriti da Giorgio Sangiorgi con prefazione di W. Froehner). Masterpieces from it were sold in the 1960s and are now the pride of numerous institutions such as the Toledo Museum of Art and the Corning Museum of Glass.”

The lot descriptions contain a wealth of information about the glyptic art of the ancient times as well as some interesting provenance of the individual pieces. 

Have fun.

Intaglio sold for over $500,000!

WOW!  Talk about appreciation.  An intaglio from the first century BC was auctioned by Sotheby’s in December 2016 with an estimate of $10,000 to $15,000; it was sold to the Getty Museum for just over $500,000. 

The listing is still available at http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/old-master-sculpture-l16233/lot.88.html

The provenance or history of the intaglio provided by Sotheby’s includes its being a part of the Marlborough Gems, its “acquisition” by the Nazis, and its recovery by the so-called “Monuments Men”.