Lot 765. A South German turned ivory 'Tour de Force', late 17th century; height 11 1/8 in. 28.25 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot Sold: 134,500 USD. Photo Sotheby's

the stepped cylindrical base of turned ebony demarcated by thin ivory rings beneath a domed ivory foot rising to a thin shaft interspersed with three delicate cage-form elements and one radial florette, centered upon a pierced sphere enclosing an urn form, surmounted by a narrow spire. 

Provenance: Kunsthandlung Julius Böhler, MunichComplex tour de force ivory objects, without any plausible utilitarian function, are intended purely as expressions of the turner's skill. As the treatises on turning which emerged in the 17th century elucidate, the turner does not endeavor to imitate nature but rather to surpass it – ars naturam superat – and in doing so, expresses his control of the universe through reason.

Forms similar to this elegant example can be seen in the 1719 catalogue of Nicolas Grollier de Servière's turning cabinet (see Maurice 1985, p. 112, no. 123). See also lot 781 for an example of the basket-forms and lot 768 for a discussion of the pierced contrefait sphere.

Sotheby's. Property from the Collections of Lily & Edmond J. Safra - Volumes I-VI. New York | 18 Oct 2011 - www.sothebys.com