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Roman ‘Leda and the Swan’ sells for $19 million at Sotheby’s

Roman Marble Group of Leda and the Swan

A Marble Group of Leda and the Swan
Roman Imperial, circa 2nd Century A.D
Sold for $19,122,500 (est. $2/3 million)

Roman ‘Leda and the Swan’ sells for $19 million Sotheby’s 8 December 2011 sale of Antiquities was highlighted by a marble sculpture of Leda and the Swan, Roman Imperial, circa 2nd Century A.D, whichsold for $19,122,500.]]>

December 11, 2011, source: Sotheby’s / theartwolf

The Roman group of Leda and the Swan was recently discovered in Aske Hall, North Yorkshire and had been in the collection of the Marques of Zetland since 1789. The sculpture was sought by four bidders before eventually selling to an anonymous buyer for $19,1 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for an antiquity.

At the same sale at Sotheby’s, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York acquired a marble head of Zeus Ammon, Roman Imperial, Circa A.D. 120-160 (previously in the collection of Dodie Rosekrans) for $3,554,500. The Egyptian section was highlighted by a basalt head Of Tuthmosis III, 18th Dynasty, Reign Of Tuthmosis III, 1479-1426 B.C, which sold for $602,500.

Christie’s auction was led by a Roman parcel-gilt silver emblema of Cleopatra Selene, circa late 1st Century B.C. – early 1st Century A.D., sol for $2,546,500 to an European private collector. Two other lots – a Roman bronze figure of an Emperor and a Greek silver Kylix- sold for over $1 million.

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Roman 'Leda and the Swan' sells for $19 million at Sotheby's