Most Expensive Ancient Art ever sold
Fresh Money for Old Stones: The Most Expensive Antiquities ever sold
by theartwolf.com
Ancient Art / Antiquities is by far the most intriguing and unknown section of the art market. In fact, it is sometimes the perfect place for criminals, smugglers and looters, who operate in almost any country with a rich heritage. Perhaps the most famous and illustrating example is the so-called “Persian Mummy”, the mummy of an alleged Persian princess that was “discovered” in Pakistan in late 2000. The mummy had been put up for sale in the black market for an asking price of more than $15 million, but, one year later, an in-depth analysis of the corpse concluded that the Persian “Princess” was in fact a modern woman of about 21 who had died maybe two years before, possibly killed with a blunt instrument.
But all these scandals have not stopped the rise of the prices for top-quality antiquities, pieces that can be as sought-after as a Picasso or a Monet, for example. Well-preserved, good-provenance artworks can easily fetch up to $10 million or more in auction houses like Christie’s or Sotheby’s, or in Art fairs like the TEFAF in Maastricht.
Here is a list of the most expensive Ancient artworks ever sold, as far as we know the one and only list of its kind online. theArtWolf will be ready to update it if new acquisitions come to light. And remember that you can also help us to create a more complete list if you see any error or omission. Then, please contact us.
** Inflation-adjusted price
| Author / Culture | Work | Date | Original Price | Adjusted Price** | Description | Image | Date of Sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | Kouros - statue of a youth | c.530 b.C. | $7,000,000 | $17,770,000 | Some sources say $9 million - Private sale, 1986. Buyer: The Getty Museum . Seller: Gianfranco Becchina. Some experts consider this piece to be a modern fake |  | 1986 |
| Greek, attributed to Phidias or his circle | Ivory face of Apollo | c. 4th century b.C. | $10,000,000 | $17,700,000 | Private sale, 1996. Buyer: Nino Savoca. Seller: Pietro Casasanta. The piece was found to have been looted from Italy. Image by Carole Raddato, license Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic |  | 1996 |
| Assyrian | The Canford Assyrian relief | 883-859 b.C. | $11,300,000 | $21,165,000 | Christie's London , July 6 th 1994. Buyer: The Miho Museum . Seller: The Canford Manor |  | 1994 |
| Greek (sometimes attributed to Lysippos | Victorious Youth | 300 b.C. - 100 b.C. | $3,950,000 | $17,980,000 | Private sale, 1977. Seller: Herman Heinz Herzer. Buyer: Getty Museum |  | 1977 |
| Roman | The Jenkins Venus (The Barberini Venus) | c.1 st -2 nd century a.C. | $11,700,000 | $18,060,000 | Christie's London , July 2002. Buyer: Anonymous. Seller: Richard Compton | 2002 | |
| Chinese | Bronze figure of a tapir | Warring States , 4th century b.c. | $12,000,000 | $16,240,000 | Private sale, TEFAF Maastricht 2007. Buyer: Chinese private collector. Seller: Littleton & Hennessy Asian Art. | 2007 | |
| The Schuster Master (Cycladic) | Cycladic reclining female figure | Cycladic II, c.2400 b.c | $16,882,500 | $21,410,000 | Christie's's NY, December 9th 2010. Buyer: Unknown. Seller: New York private collector | 2010 | |
| Roman | Marble Group of Leda and the Swan | circa 2nd Century a.C. | $19,122,500 | $23,552,000 | Sotheby's NY, December 8th 2011. Buyer: Unknown. Seller: Marques of Zetland | 2011 | |
| Roman | The Hamilton Aphrodite | 1st-2nd century A.D. | $24,580,000 | $24,580,000 | Sotheby's London, December 7th 2021. Buyer: unknown. Seller: private collector |  | 2021 |
| Roman | Bust of Antinous | circa 130-138 a.c. | $23,826,500 | $30,215,000 | Sotheby's NY, December 8th 2010. Buyer: Unknown. Seller: Estate of Clarence Day | 2010 | |
| South Italy | Statue of Aphrodite | c.400 b.C. | $18,000,000 | $42,200,000 | Private sale, 1988. Buyer: The Getty Museum . Seller: Private collection | 1988 | |
| Chinese | Ritual wine vessel: The Ming Fanglei | Late Shang / Early West Zhou (12th – 11th cent. b.C). | $25,000,000 | $29,170,000 | Price between $20 to 30 million Private sale, 2014. Buyer: Chinese private collectors on behalf of the Hunan Museum. Seller: French collector. Image by Huangdan2060 |  | 2014 |
| Egyptian | The Northampton Sekhemka statue | 5th dynasty (c. 2494–2345 b.C.) | $27,150,000 | $31,675,000 | Christie's London, July 10th, 2014. Buyer: Unknown. Seller: Northampton Museum. Image via Christie's (www.christies.com) |  | 2014 |
| Chinese | Bronze ritual ram | 13th – 11th century bC. | $27,127,500 | $30,930,000 | Christies's NY, March 15th, 2017. Buyer: Unknown. Seller: Fujita Museum. Image via christies.com (www.christies.com) |  | 2017 |
| Chinese, Anyang | Ritual wine vessel, pou. | Late Shang, 13th – 11th cent. bC. | $27,127,500 | $30,930,000 | Christies's NY, March 15th, 2017. Buyer: Unknown. Seller: Fujita Museum. Image via christies.com (www.christies.com) |  | 2017 |
| Chinese | The 'Xi Jia' Pan | Western Zhou, 1046 - 771 b.C. | $27,300,000 | $30,980,000 | Sold for 185 million yuan ($27.3 million) in Hangzhou | 2017 | |
| Roman | Artemis and the stag | c.1 st Century B.C./ 1 st Century A.D | $28,600,000 | $38,155,000 | Sotheby's NY, June 7 th 2007. Buyer: Giuseppe Eskenazi. Seller: Albright Knox Art Gallery |  | 2007 |
| Assyrian | Relief of a winged genius | 883-859 b.C. | $30,968,750 | $34,050,000 | Christie's NY, October 31, 2018. Buyer: Unknown. Seller: Virginia Theological Seminary. Image via Christie's (www.christies.com) |  | 2018 |
| Chinese | Bronze Ritual Wine Vessel & Cover, Fanglei | Late Shang | $33,847,500 | $38,588,000 | Christies's NY, March 15th, 2017. Buyer: Unknown. Seller: Fujita Museum. | 2017 | |
| Chinese, Anyang | Ritual wine vessel, fangzun | Late Shang, 13th – 11th cent. B.C. | $37,207,500 | $42,420,000 | Christies's NY, March 15th, 2017. Buyer: Unknown. Seller: Fujita Museum. Image via Christie's (www.christies.com) |  | 2017 |
| Near Eastern | The Guennol Lioness | c. 3000 b.C. | $57,200,000 | $75,700,000 | Sotheby's NY, December 5th 2007. Buyer: Private British collector. Seller: Alastair Bradley Martin Fund. |  | 2007 |
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