Small Size Guennol Lioness Sells For $57.2 Million

Guennol Lioness sold for a remarkable $57,161,000.

This afternoon at Sotheby’s New York, the Guennol Lioness, one of the last known masterworks from the dawn of civilization remaining in private hands, sold for a remarkable $57,161,000, a record for any sculpture at auction.

The Guennol Lioness was created approximately 5,000 years ago in the region of ancient Mesopotamia. The sculpture was acquired in 1948 by Alastair Bradley Martin and his wife Edith, whose revered Guennol Collection of choice masterworks across countless periods and cultures has been celebrated by scholars and museums for decades. The Guennol Lioness had been on view at the Brooklyn Museum of Art for nearly 60 years and extensively published. The proceeds of the auction will benefit a charitable trust formed by the Martin Family. [from artdaily]