Auction house
Christie's
London, United Kingdom · founded 5 December 1766
Auction house in London, founded 5 December 1766. 54 people in the register connected with it.
History
- 5 December 1766James Christie held the first sale in London, as the Wikipedia article gives it; it also notes other sources point to auction activity from 1759.
LondonChristie's
- 22 June 1909Charles Newton-Robinson's sale at Christie's London included Cypriot items (lots 14 and 17); Dikran Kelekian bought a scarab and an intaglio there, later in the Walters Art Museum (42.157, 42.160).
LondonCharles Newton-RobinsonDikran Garabed KelekianWalters Art Museum 42.157,…Intaglio with a Head…
- 11 July 1973Desmond Morris bought a Red Polished 'deer-milking' jug at Christie's London, lot 87 (later in the Getty as 2001.79).
- 27 April 1976Christie's sale 'Classical, Egyptian, Cypriot and Western Asiatic Antiquities' included picrolite figurines, pp. 20-22, pls. 4-6; Karageorghis states Hadjiprodromou objects appeared in it as looted. Morris records two comb-type figures from lots 81 and 82 that were 'acquired by the Cyprus Museum'.
LondonChristakis HadjiprodromouKarageorghis 1990, p. 58Morris 1985
- 14 December 1983Christie's London sold a large Red Polished jug (lot 275, colour-illustrated on catalogue p. 41) with two relief 'idol' figures; Morris recognised a Comb Figure on it and wrote it up in 1985.
- 1997Christie's New York sale 8684 offered Cypriot limestone heads, e.g. lot 103 (USD 3,680) and lot 104 (head of a woman, USD 43,700); Frank Stark consigned lot 122.
- 2001Christie's sale 9296 included Cypriot Red Polished and White Painted jugs, among them lots 94 and 178 from James Bomford's collection and lot 114 formerly Joseph Mueller's.
- 26 October 2004 – 27 October 2004'A Peaceable Kingdom: The Leo Mildenberg Collection of Ancient Animals', Christie's London, sale 7017.
- 9 December 2005'Ancient Vases from the Collection of William Suddaby', Christie's New York, sale 1584.
New YorkWilliam Suddaby
- 26 April 2012A Cypriot limestone male head (lot 258, sale 4925), provenance Hector-Martin Lefuel, acquired c. 1870, sold for GBP 103,250 against GBP 40,000-60,000.
- 1 October 2015A Cypriot limestone male head (lot 65, sale 10373) sold for GBP 158,500; the same year lots 160 and 185 of sale 3798 came from Elias S. David's descendants.
- 2016Christie's sale 12257, lot 88: limestone votary head ex-Cesnola, ex-Metropolitan Museum, bought in 1963 from S. Dormont of Tel Aviv, consigned by Charles Steinberg's collection.
- 25 April 2017Cypriot limestone head of a male votary (lot 232, sale 14355), 'said to be from the Temple at Golgoi' and from Cesnola, sold for USD 150,000 against USD 25,000-35,000.
- 2019Online sale 16441, lot 136: a Cypro-Archaic bichrome vessel with the provenance line 'Given to Margaret Thatcher ... by President Georgios Vassiliou of Cyprus', sold for GBP 6,000 against an estimate of GBP 700-1,000. Press reports (not read directly) say Cypriot officials complained that state gifts should not be sold.
Margaret ThatcherGeorgios VassiliouMaria PaphitiCyprus seeks answers after… 2019
- 26 January 2023Cypriot limestone male head, c. 4th century BC, lot 53 (sale 21709), sold for USD 107,100 against USD 60,000-80,000.
People
54 peopleStaff and members · 1
- Geza von Habsburgstaff · head of European operations (for many years)Hofstadter 1994
Sellers and consignors · 29
- Charles Newton-Robinsonconsignor (1909–1909) · consignor, sale of 22 June 1909 · consigned objectsWalters Art Museum 42.157,…Intaglio with a Head…1909
- Frank Starkconsigned objects1997
- James Bomfordconsignor (2001–2001)2001
- Sid Portconsigned objects2001–2002
- E. Odell-Fosterconsigned objects2002
- Henriette Schumannconsigned objects2003
- Jaques Schumannconsigned objects2003
- Leo Mildenbergconsignor (2004–2004) · consigned objects2004
- William Suddabyconsignor (2005–2005) · consigned objects2005
- Edith Altschul Grahamconsigned objects2006
- Charles Noyes de Forestconsigned objects2007
- Van Berchem collectionconsignor (2008–2008) · consigned objects2008
- Jean-Philippe Mariaud de Serresconsigned objects2011
- Pierre Véritéconsignor (2011–2011) · consigned objects2011
- Michael Inchbaldconsigned objects2014
- Elias S. Davidconsignor (2015–2015) · consigned objects2015
- Ann Brunskillconsignor (2016–2016) · consigned objects2016
- Charles Steinbergconsignor (2016–2016) · consigned objects2016
- Otto Wittmann Jr.consigned objects2018
- Nicolas Koutoulakisconsignor (2020–2020) · consigned objects2020–2022
- Barbara Markoconsigned objects2021
- Harold Markoconsigned objects2021
- Stanley Mossconsignor (2021–2021) · consigned objects2021
- Joan H. Marksconsigned objects2023
5 more
- Christos G. Bastisconsigned objects
- Gertrude Bernoudyconsigned objects
- Jacques Heurgonconsigned objects
- Nina Bunshaftconsigned objects
- Vincent Priceconsigned objects
Buyers · 2
- Dikran Garabed Kelekianbuyer (1909–1909) · bought hereWalters Art Museum 42.157,…1909
- Desmond Morrisconsignor (2001–2001) · bought here · consigned objects1973–2001
Others connected · 22
- Christakis Hadjiprodromou1976
- Julius Wertheim1998
- James Alfred Brew2001
- Joseph Mueller2001
- V. E. G. Kenna2001
- Francis Witton2004
- Maurice Nahman2004
- Oscar Blum Gentilomo2004
- Wilhelm Horn2005
- Alfred E. Mirsky2006
- Edouard des Courières2006
- Arthur M. Sackler2012
- Henry Honeychurch Gorringe2015
- Léon Rodrigues-Ely2015
- Colonel Norman Colville2016
- Margaret Thatcher2019
- Myron L. Mayer2020
- Fridolin Schwitter-Lagutt2022
- Anastos
- Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers
- Freddy Homburger
- Penha
Objects
Red-Polished Ware bowl with high-relief decoration (Desmond Morris collection)
2001.78via Desmond Morris2001Red-Polished Ware Bowl with…
Scarab with a centaur and two lions in a swivel ring
Walters 42.157via Charles Newton-Robinson1909Walters Art Museum 42.157,…
Cypro-Archaic bichrome vessel, 'given to Margaret Thatcher'
Christie's sale 16441, lot 136via Margaret Thatcher2019
Cypriot limestone head of a male votary, ex-Cesnola
Christie's sale 14355, lot 232from said to be Golgoi25 April 2017Christie's sale records for…
On Ancient Cyprus
10 pages- Cypriot Pottery Replicas and Fakes: Is My Piece Real?Article
- Cyprus Export Licences, Lead Seals and Labels: Reading the MarksArticle
- How the Past of Cyprus was Sold to the Highest Bidder: The 1928 MET SalesArticle
- Licence No. 7070: How Cypriot Antiquities Left the Island LegallyArticle
- Selling Cypriot Antiquities in the UK: Law, Auctions and ExportArticle
- Selling Cypriot Antiquities in the US: What the Law AllowsArticle
- The House of KoutoulakisArticle
- What Is My Cypriot Antiquity Worth? Real Auction PricesArticle
- Collecting Cypriot Antiquities Today: Law, Provenance and Due DiligenceCompendium
- Looting in Occupied Northern Cyprus after 1974Compendium
Sources
- 1.“Christie's”. Wikipedia. Online
- 2.Desmond Morris (1985). The Art of Ancient Cyprus, with a check-list of the author's collection. Oxford, Phaidon Press in association with Jonathan Cape.
- 3.V. Karageorghis (1990). The A. G. Leventis Foundation and the Cultural Heritage of Cyprus.
- 4.Dan Hofstadter (1994). Goldberg's Angel: An Adventure in the Antiquities Trade.
- 5.Alicia Marie Dissinger (2017). “Cypro-Archaic Bird Iconography: Types, Uses, and Meanings”. University of Virginia.
- 6.Christie's sale records for Cypriot lots.
- 7.“Auction market statistics, 'cypriot' (record I21715)”.
- 8.“Red-Polished Ware Bowl with High Relief Decoration, 2001.78 (and 2001.79)”. J. Paul Getty Museum online collection.
- 9.“Walters Art Museum 42.157, 42.160 provenance”. Walters Art Museum online collection.
- 10.“Intaglio with a Head in Profile, 42.160”. Walters Art Museum online collection.
- 11. (2019). “Cyprus seeks answers after state gift to Thatcher sold at auction”. Jersey Evening Post. Online