[MSN] Ancient Clash: Christie's Says It's Greek, Dealers Say Roman

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Ancient Clash: Christie's Says It's Greek, Dealers Say Roman 

(The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Bloomberg.)

By Linda Sandler 

May 18 (Bloomberg) -- At Christie's International, an ancient bronze head
went on the block last month, catalogued as a 5th-century Greek Apollo.
Buyers in London voted with their wallets against the description. 

Christie's, whose auctions exceeded $3 billion in 2005, valued the so-called
Stanford Place Apollo at as much as 1.2 million pounds ($2.1 million). An
unidentified woman in the room paid a hammer price of 650,000 pounds, or 13
percent below the low estimate of 750,000 pounds. 

``If it really was a classical head, it might have sold for $3 million,''
said Ali Aboutaam of Phoenix Ancient Art SA of New York and Geneva, a view
shared by other dealers and collectors at the April 26 sale. ``The price
shows it's a Roman version of a Greek head, probably 1st century B.C. It's
classicizing, not classical.'' 

The sale showed how buyers may resist auction experts' dating or valuing.
Among other objects catalogued as 5th-century Greek, a goddess's head went
below estimate and a male torso failed to sell. A statue described as 3rd to
2nd millennium B.C. also didn't sell, even though it was well known after
being loaned to New York's Metropolitan Museum. 

``The Romans were mirroring and copying Greek originals, and sometimes
there's a desire by experts -- and dealers -- to make things Greek,'' said
Michael Padgett, Princeton University Art Museum's curator of ancient art. 

Stanford Place 

The bronze head was the top-priced item in a 71-lot sale entitled, ``The
Stanford Place Collection of Antiquities,'' formerly housed in Oxfordshire,
England. Christie's won't name the seller, though dealers and scholars said
the pieces belonged to Claude Hankes-Drielsma, adviser to Iraq, critic of
the Oil for Food program, British Museum patron and longtime collector. 

The auction totaled 2.2 million pounds, including Christie's commission. The
presale estimate was 2 million pounds to 3 million pounds. 

The Stanford Place estate -- four reception rooms, 12 bedrooms, cellars,
stables, ponds and woodland -- is also for sale, according to an
advertisement in Christie's catalog. The asking price is 5 million pounds,
agent Savills said. 

Catherine Pillonel, an assistant at his Stanford Place office, asked
Bloomberg to e-mail questions to Hankes-Drielsma, then, after receiving
them, said that he was traveling and might not be reachable for three
months. 

Treasure Disputes 

In the world of art and antiquities, millions of dollars are at stake for
museums and private buyers, depending on the date or ownership of an object.
Disputes are increasingly common, and sometimes escalate. 

Christie's, the world's largest auctioneer, lost a 2004 court fight with
billionaire Kenneth Thomson's daughter about the age of porphyry urns she'd
bought, then won on appeal last year. In April, Christie's withdrew from
auction five beams from a Cordoba mosque after the Spanish government and a
Cordoba church claimed ownership in a sign that more countries are
reclaiming treasures as museums agree to ship objects back to Italy and
Greece. 

This week, J. Paul Getty Museum Director Michael Brand said he'd recommend
the return of some Greek antiquities following talks with officials in
Athens. 

Sarah Hornsby, Christie's specialist for the Stanford Place sale, said she
was confident the Apollo (7 7/8 inches high, or 20 centimeters, with curled,
cabled hair and hollow eyes), goddess and other objects were correctly
catalogued. ``We used comprehensive research and our own expertise as well
as drawing on the knowledge of established scholars and academics from
around the world,'' she said in an e-mailed response to Bloomberg's
questions. 

Soft Face 

Reviewing the catalog, Princeton's Padgett said on the telephone from New
Jersey and by e-mail, ``I am comfortable with the late 5th-century date
assigned to the goddess. The style is right, and there's a softness to the
face and the modeling of the hair. I am less certain about the bronze
Apollo, but I think a 5th-century date is defensible. There are a lot of
cynics in auction rooms.'' 

Greek and Roman sculptures can be hard to date and value. Wealthy Romans
decorated their houses with Greek statues, so Roman artists made a lot of
good copies of Greek sculptures as well as original works in the Greek
style. 

``Style alone can be an imprecise rule of thumb,'' said Padgett. ``Technical
analysis of the materials may help but it is frequently inconclusive,
especially in the case of marbles used by both Greeks and Romans.'' 

Apollo in Cleveland 

Phoenix, among the largest antiquities dealers, sold a life-sized bronze
Apollo to the Cleveland Museum in 2004. The museum said it was probably by
the Greek sculptor Praxiteles. Some scholars said it might be Roman, and
shouldn't have been bought -- for an estimated $5 million -- because of gaps
in its ownership history, reported the Cleveland Plain Dealer at the time. 

``We sold it as Greek or Roman,'' Aboutaam said. 

London-based Christie's, owned by French billionaire Francois Pinault, sold
$23 million of antiquities in 2005, at four auctions in New York and London.


Key Lots 

Here are the key Stanford Place lots, with Christie's comments in quotation
marks. 

Lot 29. The catalog likened the Stanford Place Apollo to a Greek head in
London's British Museum. Dealers said it resembled a Roman portrait of a
real person rather than a god. Greek faces are more idealized, they said.
Fifth century B.C. heads of that size are mostly in museums and rarely come
to the market, they said. British Museum curator Dyfri Williams declined to
comment. 

``The Stanford Place Apollo was exhibited in Basel with a label dating the
piece to 460 B.C.,'' Hornsby wrote. ``This date was also used in the
catalogue guide. We considered the opinion of the museum as well as drawing
on our own knowledge in cataloguing this date. (It is very unusual for a
museum to publish an item which is on loan).'' 

Lot 46. Catalogued as a Greek marble head of a goddess, last quarter of 5th
century B.C. The hammer price was 15,000 pounds, 50 percent below the 30,000
pound top estimate and 25 percent below the low valuation. It may be Greek,
though overpriced because it was damaged, said a London dealer who declined
to be named. Other dealers said the buyer valued it as a Roman copy. One
said a Greek head sold in New York for about $80,000 around 1990. 

`Extreme Wear' 

``This lot was subject to extreme wear, with virtual obliteration to the
face,'' Hornsby said. ``The poor condition of the piece was the reason
behind the estimate and price. Over the last 15 years, the antiquities
market has seen condition hold an ever increasing influence over the value
of Greek, Hellenistic and Roman sculptures.'' 

Lot 27. Catalogued as a Greek marble male torso, perhaps an athlete, mid-5th
century B.C. The estimate was 100,000 pounds to 200,000 pounds. It didn't
sell. Again, some dealers said it may be Roman, worth 50,000 pounds. Greek
torsos of this size (28 inches of modeled muscles) would fetch much more
than Christie's top estimate, they said. 

``Once again, the condition of this sculpture was poor, as reflected in the
estimate,'' Hornsby said. 

Lot 62. Described as a copper-alloy heroic figure from the late 3rd to 2nd
millennium. It was valued at 200,000 pounds to 300,000 pounds and didn't
sell. There were few or no bids, and one dealer said it may date from later
than catalogued. 

``We are very confident with the cataloguing of this lot -- we concurred
with the view of scholars at the Metropolitan Museum that the date of this
piece was as catalogued,'' Hornsby wrote. 
 


To contact the reporter on this story:
Linda Sandler in London at  lsandler at bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: May 18, 2006 01:09 EDT  

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