December 4, 2015

CYCLADIC, BOEOTIAN AND LURISTAN: THE COLLECTION OF ARTHUR L. JACOBS, NEW YORK

Arthur L. Jacobs was a curious collector who lived at 45 Gramercy Park in Manhattan from the 1950’s until his death in 1979. He had a particular fondness for Middle Eastern and Asian art, and took pleasure in “the search”, as all devoted collectors. He was an attorney with a modest practice, and is credited with crafting specific language that was tested and upheld in the Supreme Court in 1974. The case was The Village of Belle Terre, New York, versus Boraas in regards to a zoning dispute.

In addition to investing in and managing New York Metro real estate for the last 40 years of his life, Arthur Jacobs was publisher and manager of the Yiddish language daily newspaper,Freiheit, and then of Der Tog (The Day).

He passed on his passion for collecting ancient Greek, Persian and Chinese artifacts to his son, Gabriel Jacobs, who is now parting with these primeval pieces so that the new collectors can indulge their own passions. The highlights of his collection are as follows:

Cycladic Marble Figure
Lot 254: A Fine Cycladic Marble Figure of a Goddess, early Cycladic II Period (Keros-Syros Culture), modeled with arms folded beneath her breast on and ebonized wood stand. Height 5” x Width 1 ¾”.
Estimate: $15,000 – $20,000

Early Cycladic figurines are the most important works of Cycladic art. They usually represent standing nude female figures whose ancient prototypes are Neolithic female figurines from the Greek mainland, from Aegea, and Anatolia. Nearly all are made of marble, and are of varying sizes. They are thought to be representations of goddesses, or of the Great Mother. Other theories suggest that they are either apotropaic figures, representations of nymphs or heroes, or revered ancestors, even divine nursemaids. There are three recognizable stylistic periods:

Early Cycladic II period (Keros-Seros culture, 2800-2300 BCE):
Typical Early Cycladic II period figurines are standing with the arms folded at the waist and the head somewhat tilted back (the heads are frequently lost). The legs are usually bent slightly at the knees, and in most cases the feet (where present) are inclined as if the figure was standing on tiptoe. Facial features and body parts are usually shown three-dimensionally, or incised, and sometimes painted. Several varieties of the folded arm type can be distinguished based on differences in the outline or the modeling of the body. These are the Kapsala, Spedos, Dokathismata, and Chalandriani varieties, named for the cemeteries of Amorgos, Naxos and Syros, where these varieties were first found. Schematic type figurines were also made during the Early Cycladic II period characterized by quadrangular outline and a rough indication of a head — the feature that distinguishes these schematic type figurines from those of the Early Cycladic I period.

Some figurines from the Early Cycladic II period are fully three-dimensional and quite large, reaching a height up to four-and-one-half feet. The best examples are of musicians: seated or standing male figures playing musical instruments. In this flourishing period of Cycladic sculpture (and Cycladic civilization in general) there is a broad diffusion of figurines throughout the Aegean through export and local manufacture.

Our thanks to Glenn A. Long, Former Curator-in-Charge of African, Oceanic, Pre-Columbian and American Indian Art, The Baltimore Museum of Art for researching this figure.

Boeotian Terracottas

This group of Boeotian material is from ancient Greece, its capital was Livadeia and its largest city Thebes. It is suggested that the primary purpose for these terracotta pieces were votives for religious offerings, and funeral burials.
Lot 256: Boeotian Painted Terracotta Figure of a Giraffe, standing on four square, painted with horizontal stripes. Height 7 ¼” x Width 4 ½”
Estimate: $800 – $1,200

Lot 257: Boeotian Terracotta Figure of a Cock, modeled with a serrated crest and curved tail feathers, traces of brown highlights. Height 3 ¾” x Length 4 ¾”
Estimate: $500 – $700

Lot 260: Boeotian Terracotta Votive Figure, with outstretched arms, red highlights on white ground. Height 9 ½” x Width 4 ½”
Estimate: $600 – $800

Luristan Bronzes

Luristan is located is the Zagros mountains of western Iran and the height of their “Bronze Age” was 2900 – 1250 BC. They made a large range of objects, from tools, weapons, horse-fittings and ornaments. The bronzes tended to be flat and use openwork similar to Scythian art. The Jacobs Collection focuses on art of a nomadic people, for whom all possessions needed to be light and portable.
Lot 268: Luristan Bronze Pendant, modeled as an addorsed antelope centered by a loop. Height 2 ½” x Width 2 ½”.
Estimate: $500 – $700

Lot 271: Two Luristan Bronze Horse-Form Pinheads, each modeled in profile with yoke. Height 1 5/8” x Width 2 ¼” and Height 2 ¼” x Width 2 ½”
Estimate: $500 – $700

Lot 273: Luristan Bronze Finial, the totemic stem with two animal figures flanked by birds. Height 8 3/8” x Width 3 5/8”
Estimate: $500 – $700

We are pleased to have on offer in our December 4th auction a fine selection of Cycladic, Boeotian and Luristan figures and ornaments from the Collection of Arthur L. Jacobs, New York, including Lot 254, a Fine Cycladic Marble Figure of a Goddess, with an estimate of $15,000 – $20,000.