Chasing the Unique

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Are collectors who chase antiquities so enthralled by the distant past that they forget to take notice of the worries of the moment, such as a deepening recession? Or do they simply feel that in a world of shrinking supplies, they cannot afford to pass on opportunities unlikely to come back? The latter is presumably the more plausible reason for some of the phenomenal prices paid for antiquities at Christie’s last December 9 and at Sotheby’s the next day.

Considered in overall financial terms, the two New York sessions may look unimpressive when compared with those devoted to 20th-century art. At Christie’s, the proceeds added up to $4.8 million, and at Sotheby’s, which probably did not make the mistake of caving in to consignors’ insistence on inflated estimates-cum-reserves, the score stood at $8.9 million. But what makes these sales significant for the future of the art market is their pattern.

Despite the worsening financial environment, it became evident right away that rare works of the highest quality were being chased with as much enthusiasm as ever — so long as two conditions were fulfilled. The first was that the object be backed with documentation establishing that it had tumbled into the art market prior to 1970, the cutoff date established by UNESCO’s Unidroit convention. Even though many countries, including the United States, have not signed the agreement, a number of collectors and professionals are convinced that sooner or later all antiquities, whether from ancient Egypt, the Middle East, Greece or Rome, will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to sell without verifiable evidence that they are kosher in Unidroit terms. But, naturally, unimpeachable credentials are of little help when objects are blatantly overestimated. Which leads us to the second condition: printed estimates must be plausible.

At Christie’s, the divergent fates of two early stone vessels from ancient Egypt made this clear right from the first few lots. The sale opened with a squat serpentine basin with two pierced lugs, four and seven-eighth inches wide, which had entered a French collection prior to 1970. It was fine, but not unique, and estimated at $5,000 to $7,000 the vessel was doomed.

Minutes later, a tiny kohl jar from the first half of the second millennium B.C. came up. The type is well known, but its smooth polish, intact despite some breaks, made it desirable for anyone who loves perfect shapes in a beautiful medium. Nevertheless, it would have failed had the auctioneer heeded the wildly optimistic estimate. He wisely allowed it to go for less, and it still sold brilliantly, at $22,500.

That improvised price correction neatly defined the general mood that day. Buyers were bullish but not foolish.

However, the moment rarities deemed great by virtue of their historical associations or their artistic splendor came up, competition sent them climbing to dizzying heights.

Except for badly battered fragments, Egyptian sculpture from the reign of Akhenaten (1353-35 B.C.) is very hard to come by. A panel from that period, published in 1969 in G. Roeder’s monumental book Amarna Reliefs from Hermopolis: Excavations of the German Hermopolis Expedition at Hermopolis 1929-39, was included in the Christie’s sale. Akhenaten’s feet and the extremity of Queen Nefertiti’s light gown appear at the top. The headless bodies of sacrificed bulls can be seen in the main register. Below, attendants bend over altars, and in the bottom tier, other attendants busy themselves with the sacrificial ritual. The detailed tableau in sunken relief, important for its documentary value, went up to $86,500 — well above the high estimate of $50,000.

This was nothing compared with the excitement that broke out when a truly great masterpiece had its turn on the block. The bronze figure of Osiris cast in the early first millennium B.C., which is unusually large for its type, ranks among the most beautiful bronzes from the last period of Egyptian art untouched by Western influence that came in following Alexander’s invasion. The figure had once belonged to one of the greatest European collectors, the eclectic comtesse de Béhague, as Martine-Marie-Octavie Pol de Béhague (1870-1939) is remembered. Expected to be knocked down between $150,000 and $250,000, a seemingly stiff estimate agreed upon before the financial troubles, Osiris shot up to $422,500.