Sculpture is one of the oldest expressions of human artistic activity. Alongside painting, which first appeared in the Paleolithic on the walls of caves, sculpture has accompanied humanity for thousands of years as a way of depicting gods, forces of nature, people, and animals. From the earliest times, humans carved in stone, clay, and bone. Later came bronze, which, though invented relatively late, became firmly established as a canonical sculptural material.
From a collector’s perspective, sculpture offers the same advantages as painting. It is a work of art whose number is limited. It is durable. It is beautiful. It can be functional, symbolic, or purely decorative. And if it bears a great name, or originates from a specific epoch or region, it also acquires strong investment value. The same principle applies here: what is old and of quality can only grow in worth. What exists today from the past is all that will ever exist. The market is shrinking, museums continue to acquire, and private collections increase in value.
Capital with Figural Decoration, Sandstone, France, 12th-14th Century
Christ Salvator Mundi, polychrome wood, Poland, 19th century.
Gallo-Roman sculpture of the head of Eros (?), marble, 1st-3rd century A.D.
Head of an angel (?), sandstone, France, ca. 1300
Irish (Celtic) cross, stone sculpture, Ireland, 19th century.
Madonna and Child, polychrome wood, gilded, Central Europe, 18th/19th century.
Rama, marble, India, 19th century.
A sculpture depicting Rama, one of the most important deities of Hinduism, considered the seventh avatar of Vishnu. The object was hand-carved in white marble in India, probably in the 19th century.
The figure is depicted standing, facing forward. The face has a gentle expression with a soft smile and slightly closed eyes. The head is crowned with a decorative crown, and long necklaces are visible on the chest.
The figure is dressed in a draped robe with clearly marked folds. On its back is a quiver with arrows, characteristic of Rama's depictions.
The hands of the sculpture are not preserved, originally in one of them the figure held a bow - a characteristic element of representations of this deity. Further about these cavities do not write that they are consistent.
Rama is the hero of the epic Ramayana and in the Hindu tradition symbolizes righteousness and fidelity to the principle of dharma. His images occupy an important place in Indian sacred art, although full-figure marble sculptures of this scale are less common.
The object is preserved in good condition, with clear legibility of form and detail.
Samuel Lipszyc (1880 – 1943), Naked ballerina, patinated bronze, ca. 1920