The Reconstructed Lion Figure of Stadelhole

I think I've posted about this previously, but this is a fairly current article from Archaeology Magazine online and it gives a lot of good background/details about the painstaking reconstruction process of this fragile mammoth ivory figurine originally excavated in 1939.

New Life for the Lion Man

Volume 65 Number 2, March/April 2012

by Jarrett A. Lobell

Using recently uncovered fragments, archaeologists may be able to finally piece together one of the world’s oldest works of art 

On August 25, 1939, archaeologists working at a Paleolithic site called Stadelhole (“stable cave”) at Hohlenstein (“hollow rock”) in southern Germany, uncovered hundreds of mammoth ivory fragments. Just one week later, before they could complete their fieldwork and analyze the finds, World War II began. The team was forced to quickly fill the excavation trenches using the same soil in which they found the ivory pieces. For the next three decades, the fragments sat in storage at the nearby City Museum of Ulm, until archaeologist Joachim Hahn began an inventory. As Hahn pieced together more than 200 fragments, an extraordinary artifact dating to the Aurignacian period (more than 30,000 years ago) began to emerge. It was clearly a figure with both human and animal characteristics. However, only a small part of the head and the left ear had been found, so the type of creature it represented remained a mystery.

Between 1972 and 1975, additional fragments from excavation seasons in the 1960s, which had been stored elsewhere, and still others picked up from the cave’s floor, were taken to the museum. Yet it took until 1982 for paleontologist Elizabeth Schmidt to put the new pieces together with Hahn’s earlier reconstruction. Schmidt not only corrected several old errors, but also added parts of the nose and mouth that made it clear that the figurine had a cat’s head. Although the artifact is often called Lowenmensch (the “lion man”), the word mensch is not specifically male in German, and neither the gender of the animal nor of its human parts is discernible. Five years later, to conserve the figurine, the glue that held it together was dissolved. It was then carefully put back together, revealing that only about two thirds of the original had actually been recovered.

This changed in 2008, when archaeologist Claus-Joachim Kind returned to the site at Hohlenstein. Kind removed the old backfill from the hastily concluded excavation of 1939. Over the next three years, Kind’s team found several hundred more small mammoth ivory fragments. “In 2009, when we found the first ones, it was a huge surprise,” says Kind. “But this is exactly the spot where the fragments of the figurine were originally found, so I knew right away that some belonged to the lion man. It had clearly been damaged during the earlier excavations. Only the larger pieces were collected and the smaller ones left behind,” he adds. Kind was able to fit several of the new pieces to form part of the back and neck, and a computer simulation of the lion man was created, showing the placement of several more previously unattached fragments. “At the end of the 2011 season, all the backfill will have been removed. There will be no more pieces left,” says Kind. “We hope that the lion man will finally be complete.”

Jarrett A. Lobell is executive editor at ARCHAEOLOGY.

© 2012 by the Archaeological Institute of America

Compare to the much later, but equally beautiful, Guennol Lioness Demon (Guennol Lioness). Mesopotamian, Proto-Elamite (Iran), ca. 3000-2800 B.C. White magnesite or crystalline limestone. H. 8.8 cm (3 1/2 in.); W. 6.2 cm (2 1/2 in.). She was sold at auction for over $57 million in 2007 to a private collector from amother private collection.  The proceeds went to the former owner's charitable trust.  Her legs are missing - they were thought to have been made of gold or silver.

 

Antiquities: The Hottest Investment

From Time.com By Maria Baugh Wednesday, December 12, 2007 The sculpture is just three and a half inches tall and looks like a female body-builder with a lion's head. But there's no question that the 1948 purchase of the "Guennol Lioness" by Alistair Bradley Martin was a brilliant investment. The 5,000 year-old piece of Mesopotamian religious art — presumably of Inanna, goddess of sex and war — was sold at auction by Sotheby's New York last week for a record-shattering $57.2 million. Found at an archaeological dig near Baghdad, it is an extremely rare representation of the goddess — known elsewhere as Ishtar — in animal form. She is one of the earliest of the gods whose names have survived through history. Before her sale, the most expensive piece of sculpture of any period sold at auction was a piece by Pablo Picasso which went for $29 million. The previous antiquities record was set by a Roman bronze which sold for $28 million. Such prices may scare away ordinary investors from even considering antiquities, which are defined as relics of ancient times that include coins, sculpture, tools, pottery and jewelry. among other objects. Can such objects even be a possibility for folks of much more modest means? The good news is that it is possible for the individual investor to buy antiquities — and for a surprisingly moderate sum. According to John Ambrose, founder and director of Fragments of Time, a Boston-area antiquities dealer, they're within even a modest investor's reach. "For under $10,000 a year you could acquire two to four quality objects with good provenance that you could expect would not only hold their value but increase in value over time," he says. In the past, the increase was anywhere from 8 to 9% annually, but in recent years that figure has gone up. Hicham Aboutaam, who is co-owner with his brother, Ali, of Phoenix Ancient Art in New York City and Geneva, attributes the increasing value to a couple of factors. For one, there is now a finite number of legitimate objects circulating in the U.S. due to more stringent art import legislation, enacted within the last few years. In addition, there is an increased interest in art and antiquities as investment. "People have started to appreciate the fact that this is a field where you can still get high quality objects for a fraction of what you would spend on a contemporary art object, where speculation is the biggest element determining value," he says. Ambrose agrees: "The art market has gained status as a respected asset class." So what should the novice collector know before jumping in and buying the first Greek vase they find? Ambrose advises that they study up on an era or object that they are truly interested in. He also suggests building rapport with a dealer. "A respected dealer will work with you...and they love to share their knowledge," he says. Aboutaam says that the new collector needs to understand the importance of the provenance, or history, of the object. "Check the authenticity of the piece. Who is selling it and who has seen it in terms of scholars or experts?" he says. "And it's crucial to get a condition report from a third party." Are there particular eras that the investor should look at now? "In terms of investments I do think there are still pockets of antiquities that are generally undervalued," says Ambrose, sounding as much like a stock broker as an art dealer. He lists Roman lamps, Roman bronze brooches, Greek pottery (especially south Italian Greek pottery) and Egyptian amulets, which, he says, are overlooked. "There can be fascinating intact examples," says Ambrose. And, no matter how ornate a stock certificate might be, an Egyptian amulet is always going to look better in your living room display case.

Guennol Lioness Sold for Record Amount

See my prior post. This report adds more details about the bona fides of the tiny artifact. Mea culpa, it was not, evidently, looted but was excavated by Woolley (some would say he was a looter, but that's what they did back then, in the wild woolly [pun, har!] days of archaeology.

From Archaeology News, a report from The Daily Mail:

£10m an inch - 3 1/4in carving of lioness roars into the record books as Briton buys it for £29m

By BARRY WIGMORE
Last updated at 23:19pm on 7th December 2007

At a mere 3 1/4in tall, it could be taken for an insignificant trinket.

But, this ancient carving of a lioness smashed sale records when it was bought by a British man for an astonishing £29million. The price - the most ever paid at auction for a sculpture - means the tiny artefact is worth nearly £10million an inch.

It had been thought it would fetch no more than £9million. But fierce competition for the 5,000-year- old Mesopotamian figure came from five bidders, three on phones and two in the main hall of Sotheby's New York saleroom.

The winner, who was standing at the back, did not enter the bidding until it reached nearly £14million. After the sale, the man confirmed he was English, but declined to give his name.

Known as the Guennol Lioness, the carving fetched twice as much as the previous record of £14.5million paid earlier this year for a Picasso bronze, Tete de Femme (Woman's Head), which at 3 11/2 in is almost ten times as tall.

The white limestone carving depicts a lioness's head on a muscular woman's body, with its tail curved around a slim waist.

Its first owner was probably a powerful tribal chief in Mesopotamia who wore it as a pendant on a leather thong to ward off evil.

It was found at a site near Baghdad about 80 years ago by British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley and bought in 1931 by Joseph Brummer, a New York art dealer. In 1948, he sold it to New Yorker Alastair Bradley Martin and his wife Edith. Mr Martin, grandson of steel magnate Henry Phipps, spent his life building a collection of African, Asian and American folk art. The couple - who have Welsh origins, called their estate Guennol - which is Welsh for Martin.

For most of the time since the Martins bought the lioness, it has been on permanent loan to New York's Brooklyn Museum. It was carved by a craftsman from Elam, part of the cultural region of Mesopotamia. This was the same sophisticated civilisation that invented the wheel and saw the first written words, currency, and organised cities.

When new, it was probably painted. Four holes drilled in its back were for a thong to hang it round the neck, and its missing lower hind legs are thought to have been made of gold or silver.

Richard Keresey, worldwide head of Sotheby's antiquities department, said: "I like to think of it as one of the first great sculptures of civilisation. "The new owner has the distinction of possessing one of the oldest, rarest and most beautiful works of art from the ancient world." ********************************************************************************
Hmmm, bought by a mysterious Englishman, heh? My guess is that the bidder was an agent for someone from the Middle East, backed by lots of oil money, looking to bring the Guennol Lioness "back home." Unless the purchaser lends her to a museum, she will now sit in a vault or a glass case closely guarded in an underground gallery where few people will ever see her again. I think that's very sad.

Guennol Lioness To Be Auctioned

Reported by Artdaily.org today:

On December 5, 2007, Sotheby’s New York will have the privilege of offering for sale one of the last known masterworks from the dawn of civilization remaining in private hands – The Guennol Lioness. Exhibiting strength, and with an expression of focused determination, this powerful and finely carved figure of a lioness was created approximately 5,000 years ago in the region of ancient Mesopotamia. Its creation was contemporaneous with the first known use of the wheel, the development of writing, and the emergence of the first cities. About 3 ¼ inches in height, the white limestone 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 has been on view at the Brooklyn Museum of Art for nearly 60 years and extensively published.

Diminutive in size, but monumental in conception, this icon of Near-Eastern Ancient art is estimated to sell for $14/18 million. The proceeds of the auction are to benefit a charitable trust. (Approximate Size, 3 ¼ inches).

Richard Keresey, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Antiquities Department, said, “This storied figure, in its brilliant combination of an animal form and human pose, has captured the imagination of academics and the public since it was acquired by the Martins in the late 1940s. The successful bidder in the December auction will have the distinction of owning one of the oldest, rarest and most beautiful works of art from the ancient world.”

The Guennol Lioness is a tour de force in limestone that was probably a symbol of power and owned by a figure of great importance. The commanding figure stands with her head turned over her left shoulder; paws forcibly clenched in front of her muscular chest. Despite her relatively small size, she conveys an unmistakable impression of monumentality. Noted scholar Dr. Edith Porada has described the Guennol Lioness as “a unique and remarkable example of Ancient Near Eastern sculpture.” Referring to its presence, she commented, “Perhaps the most striking feature of this sculpture is the impression of monumental power which it conveys. When seen in the original, the figure seems to fill the entire field of mental vision; even in photographs it gives the illusion of considerable size.”1 Although scholars have had access to this object for nearly 60 years, its identity, role within the system of beliefs, mythology, and the rituals of the culture that produced it, will probably remain a matter of speculation. However, the fierce aspect of the beast and the power it emanates could provide clues to the nature of the object, which perhaps was meant to repel misfortune and keep malevolent forces at bay.

The Guennol Lioness was created 50 centuries ago, in the region of the world that gave birth to writing, currency and urban centers. Based on a strong connection to a series of seal impressions featuring a striding upright leonine beast with paws locked in front of the chest, the Guennol Lioness is thought to originate in Elam, part of the cultural region of Mesopotamia. The figure is reported to have been found at a site near Baghdad, according to Joseph Brummer, the renowned New York dealer who acquired the figure in 1931 and subsequently sold it to Alastair and Edith Martin.

Also reported at The New York Post

It seems this is an unprovenanced artifact – looted many years before laws went into effect attempting to curtail the sale and importation of illegally excavated antiquities. While I expect various museums to be bidding on this incredible object, it will probably end up on the hands of a private collector and disappear from view forever. What a shame. Better that, though, than the piece being “repatriated” to Iraq, where it would either be destroyed by Islamic extremist thugs who have no appreciation for history or art (they are ignorant barbarians) or promptly stolen from whatever museum it was put into! At least the sale proceeds will go to some positive benefit through the charitable foundation. I wish Mr. Martin had decided to donate this piece to the Brooklyn Museum, though. It's been home there for 60 years.