Chinese bronze Bodhissatva, Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), led the sale at $73,928.
Review by Z.G. Burnett, Photos Courtesy of Hermann Historica
GRASBRUNN, MUNICH, GERMANY — On October 22, Hermann Historica conducted its Works of Art, Antiquities and Russian Art auction, with almost 850 lots that were sold in-person and online. Many of the top lots were either bronze statuary or armor, as well as examples of antique metalwork. The top sale was a Chinese bronze torso of a Bodhisattva in standing Tribhanga pose, clothed in a finely rendered garment with a scarf around the shoulders and a delicately modelled long chain around the neck. From the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE), the full-figure of the body shows influence from the Indian Gupta period (320-600 CE). The bronze came from a private German collection amassed in the 1970s to the 1990s and sold for $73,928.
Helmets were a strong category, with all six examples ranking high on the lot list. The top of these was a Corinthian helmet from the mid- to second half of the Seventh Century BCE, triumphing at $56,678. Sustaining only a few condition issues, the helmet was excellently preserved. Another was a pseudo-Chalcidian helmet with ram’s horns from the northern shores of the Black Sea from the Fourth Century BCE for $24,643 from a South German private collector who acquired it at an art fair in the 90s. The third highest selling helmet was from Illyria, showing Corinthian features from the Lamia group from the Fifth Century BCE, which bid to $20,946 and came from a private Austrian collection.
The third highest selling lot was a complex piece of metalwork, a miniature lantern clock by Fromanteel of London, which sold for $32,036. Ahasuerus Fromanteel (Norwich, UK, circa 1607-1693) was the first pendulum clock maker in England, and this clock was crafted in the second half of the Seventeenth Century. The case was made from silver and fire-gilt brass with engraving and niello decoration throughout, including a city scene with a windmill engraved on the dial. The clock needed repairs and restoration, but that did not deter its buyer.
Prices quoted include exchange rates as calculated on the sale date and include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
Hermann Historica’s next sales of the same categories will be conducted June 20-24. Visit www.hermann-historica.de for more information.
