How much would you pay for a 3 inch tall Mesopotamian carving of a muscle-bound lion? If you said $57.16 million (£28.17 million), you could have been the proud owner of the so-called Guennol Lioness at tonight's antiquities sale at Sotheby's NY, according to CultureGrrl. Long on loan to the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the piece brought what is apparently the highest price ever for a sculpture at auction. It's refreshing to see an object of some historical importance and aesthetic merit fetching the big bucks for once, though this may be a sign that the oft-cited "bubble" in art prices is sturdier than it seems. However, the price was driven up by the rarity of excellent antiquties with repatriation claim-proof provenances and the credibility brought by its history of museum display. Word on the street is the buyer was a British man... is someone's daddy planning on making a nice donation to the Courtauld Institute Gallery? I demand an exclusive interview!
Do we have anyone that has studied Mesopotamian art in our midst? It'd be great to get some idea of why this thing matters.
3 comments:
So what's your beef with Damien Hirst?
He's the most visible example of what's wrong with contemporary art- expensive satire with little substance.
Hmmm...I think you have just inspired my first blog article! stay tuned!
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