Lot 28. A large Cycladic marble head, Early Spedos variety, circa 2600-2500 B.C.; 23.8 cm high. Price realised USD 239,400 (Estimate USD 200,000 – USD 300,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025

Provenance: with N. Koutoulakis (1910-1996), Paris and Geneva, acquired by 1976.
Private Collection, New York, acquired from the above, 1977; thence by descent to the current owner.

Literature: J. Thimme, ed. Kunst und Kultur der Kykladeninseln im 3. Jahrtausend v. Chr., Karlsruhe, 1976, pp. 281, 474, no. 201.
J. Thimme, ed., Art and Culture of the Cyclades, Karlsruhe, 1977, pp. 281, 477, no. 201.
P. Getz-Gentle, Ancient Art of the Cyclades, Katonah, 2006, p. 36, no. 32, front cover.
P. Getz-Gentle, “Forum Response: The Keros Hoard Revisited,” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 112, 2008, p. 300, n. 5; p. 303, n. 25.

Exhibited: Karlsruhe, Badisches Landesmuseum, Kunst und Kultur der Kykladeninseln im 3. Jahrtausend v. Chr., 25 June-10 October 1976.
Katonah Museum of Art, Ancient Art of the Cyclades, 1 October-31 December 2006.

Note: This impressive lyre-shaped head tapers inwards at the forehead and has a rounded jaw line. The slender triangular nose is well centered. According to Getz-Gentle (op. cit., 2006, p. 36), this head was originally part of an unusually large reclining figure, speculated to be more than 37 in. (95 cm.) in length. For other examples similar in style and size, see no. 171 in C. Doumas, Cycladic Art, Ancient Sculpture and Art from the N.P. Goulandris Collection and p. 41 in J.-L. Martinez, La Grèce au Louvre.

Lot 27. A Cycladic marble female figure, late Spedos variety, circa 2500-2400 B.C. 30.4 cm high. Price realised USD 100,800 (Estimate USD 40,000 – USD 60,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025

Provenance: with Bud C. Holland (1922-1994), Chicago.
Private Collection, California, acquired from the above, 1980.
with Ariadne Galleries, New York and London.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2017.

Note: This fine Cycladic figure shares some characteristics with the prolific artist today known as the Goulandris Sculptor. Typical are the sloping shoulders, shallow breasts placed far apart and folded arms with the proper right extending to the left elbow. Here, the thin arms are defined only by incision, whereas some of the Goulandris Sculptor’s larger figures are fashioned with more three-dimensionality. The angled lines of the pubic triangle are only faintly visible. There is a ridge for the buttocks, with the legs angled slightly forward and divided by a deep cleft, front and back. The back is defined by an incised spine and a V at the base of the neck. The head has a broad chin and a well-centered nose. For other figures by this sculptor, see pp. 84-93 and 161-166 in P. Getz-Gentle, Personal Styles in Early Cycladic Sculpture.

Lot 26. A Cycladic marble female figure, Early Spedos variety, circa 2600-2500 B.C.; 16.5 cm high. Price realised USD 60,480 (Estimate USD 150,000 – USD 20,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2025

Provenance: with Michael Waltz (1938-2010), Munich, acquired late 1960s-1970s.
Sammlung Michael Waltz; Kunst der Antike, Auktion 206, Gorny & Mosch, Munich, 20 June 2012, lot 4.
with Ariadne Galleries, New York and London, acquired from the above.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2015.

Exhibited: University of Zurich, Archaeological Collection, 1984-2012 (Loan no. L 107).

Note: This elegant figure features an incised, rounded neckline and sloping shoulders that lead to arms that narrow toward the waist. The widely-spaced breasts are placed high on the torso with the arms below, left over right, with the fingers on the hands unarticulated. There is a straight abdominal groove that serves as the upper boundary for the incised pubic triangle. The beginning of the perforation for the leg cleft is visible above the point where the legs break off.

P. Getz-Gentle, the preeminent Cycladic art scholar, examined this object in 2012 and noted, “The figure was clearly planned and executed with great care and skill. Based on the surviving portion, I know of no close parallel for all of its features.” For another figure that displays a similar treatment of the shoulders and arms, see pl. 31, no. b in Getz-Gentle, Personal Styles in Early Cycladic Sculpture.

Christie's. Antiquities, New York, 4 February 2025