Page 361 - Chinese Art Auction April 25, 2020 2020 Galerie Zacke

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A luRIsTAN bRONZe WATeR sPOON, A bAcTRIAN cOMPOsITe
eARly 1sT MIlleNIuM bc sTONe seATed FeMAle FIguRe

Luristan. The semi-ovoid spoon with a thin curved handle ending in the Bactria-Margiana, circa late 3rd to early 2nd
form of an antelope head. The bronze with a remarkably fine malachite millennium BC. Composed of a dark gray chlorite
patina, making this a true museum piece! body, the feet, lap and torso separately made,
wearing a kaunakes, or tufted garment, indicated
Provenance: Collection of Francine Rheims (1928-2016), a famous by incised and sculpted overlapping triangles, the
art journalist writing for Le Figaro, acquired from Maîtres Boisgirard collar plain, the neckline rounded in front and
et Heeckeren at Drouot in Paris on 7 July 1981. A copy of the original V-shaped in the back, the white stucco head set
invoice as well as a copy of an expertise written by A. M. Kevorkian for into a recess on its flaring neck, the oval face with a
Mme. rheims, dated to 6 August 1981, accompany this lot. prominent nose and recessed eyes, her separately-
condition: Excellent condition with minor wear and casting flaws, one made hair of chlorite as well, arranged in a layered
small crack with a tiny associated loss. coiffure.
Weight: 44.8 g Provenance: Arthur Huc (1854-1932). Marcel Huc,
Dimensions: Height 18 cm inherited from the above. Thence by descent within
the same family. Arthur Huc was the chief editor
Inscribed on the underside with an inventory number. With an associated of La Dépêche du Midi, at the time the leading
plexiglass base. (2) newspaper in Toulouse, France. He was also an
accomplished art critic and early patron of several
estimate euR 1.500,- artists, including Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. At the
Starting price EUr 750,- same time, Arthur Huc was a keen collector of Asian
art, a passion that he inherited from his legendary
ancestor Évariste régis Huc, also known as the Abbé
Huc (1813-1860), a
French Catholic priest
and traveler who
became famous for
his accounts of Qing-
era China, Mongolia
and especially the
then-almost-unknown
Tibet in his book
“remembrances of
a Journey in Tartary, Arthur Huc (1854-1932)
Tibet, and China”.
condition: Strong wear and weathering,
encrustations, some losses, one hole drilled to one
segment. The stucco head shows stronger wear than
the stone segments. Overall still excellent condition
considering the age of this lot.

Weight: 3.1 kg including base
Dimensions: Height 26.5 cm (without base) and 28.5 cm
(with base)
Small statuettes like the present lot have been produced
by the Oxus civilization, which existed between 2300
and 1700 BC in Central Asia. This culture produced
the rather distinct type of female statuary also known
as ‘Bactrian Princesses’. Most of them are seated
composite figures. As the Oxus civilization, due to its
strategic position in Central Asia, had intense links with
neighboring cultures, these small figures also reveal a
certain Mesopotamian influence. Despite their name,
the ‘Bactrian Princesses’ are nowadays believed to be
depictions of female deities who played a regulatory
role in the natural order, pacifying the untamed forces
embodied by lions, snakes, or dragons, rather than being
portraits of members of the noble elite.
With an associated modern base. (6)
Literature comparison: For a similar seated female
figure also wearing a tufted garment, see pls. 114-115
in Ligabue and Salvatori, eds., Bactria, an Ancient Oasis
Civilization from the Sands of Afghanistan. The authors
postulate (p. 177, op. cit.) that the horizontal lap of these
figures may have served as an offering table.

AucTION ResulT
cOMPARIsON
For a related statue see
Christie’s New york in
Antiquities, 9 June 2011,
lot 19, sold for USD
$68,500.

estimate euR 3.000,-
Starting price EUr 1.500,-

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