Whether that is viewed as actually fantastic or just crass is another thing, but in 1968, the Coopers, jewellers from Philadelphia, inaugurated El Cerro – their magnificent new villa overlooking Montego Bay.
Everything reflected the luxurious lifestyle of Philadelphia’s high society, from the octagonal living room echoing the shape of a diamond to the Michelangelo-esque painted frescos and a chess set created by Duchamp for his friend Dali.
In homage to the Villa Adriana in Italy – a vast palace with many pools, baths and fountains constructed as a retreat for Emperor Hadrian – a group of four Roman statues were set in a colonnade around a swimming pool in the opulent ‘El Cerro’ villa for half a century.
Those 2nd century AD statues were bought at London dealership Crowther’s in the 1960s, and are now returning to that city at auction on June 12 at Sotheby’s. Estimates range from £100,000 to £350,000.
Marbles found
The statues feature in an auction dedicated exclusively to the classical world, dubbed Ancient Marbles. It offers ancient sculpture and works of art from the Greek, Roman and Etruscan periods.
Portrait Roman bust of the mid to late 2nd century AD, estimated at £300,000-500,000 in the June 12 Sotheby's London auction.
This sale is led by a portrait Roman bust of the mid to late 2nd century AD estimated at £300,000-500,000. Carved out of a single piece of marble, this depiction of a high-ranking military has a head which belongs to the same piece of marble as the base. Acquired in 1965 by the Denver Museum of Art, it is now being sold to benefit the museum’s acquisition fund.
Sotheby’s notes: “It was the convention to imitate the hairstyle of the current emperor, and this portrait finds its closest parallels in those of Antonius Pius – one of political philosopher Machiavelli’s ‘Five Good Emperors’. Distinguished by the cape (paludamentum) worn over his shoulder, it is most likely that he was a member of the elite senatorial or equestrian class – the military reference thus indicating his social class.”
Growing interest
With estimates ranging from £2,000 to £500,000, Sotheby’s is pitching this sale format as “an opportunity for first-time buyers as well as seasoned collectors”.
Auctioneers and dealers alike are keen to spread a message - one often aimed at interior designers/decorators - that art and antiques from the whole range of eras and styles can all be incorporated in the home, not just in different themed rooms but rubbing shoulders.
Florent Heintz, Sotheby’s worldwide head of ancient sculpture and works of art, says: “The interest in the field has been expanding in recent years, with a growth in Medici-style collectors who wish to live with the best of the best – be it an antiquity or a contemporary artwork.”
