KOLLER VIEW 3/23

8 A stroll through the ages Preview of the auction of the Collection of Dr Sylvia Legrain on 20 September 2023 With enthusiasm and expertise, Dr Sylvia Legrain and her husband Dr Fred Legrain assembled an important collection and lovingly displayed it in a harmonious setting in their home near Bern, Switzerland. Their focus was on carefully selected Roman and Greek antiquities as well as ancient Egyptian artefacts from the Late Period and the Ptolemaic era. These items were surrounded by furniture from the Bernese cabi- netmaking workshops of Mathäus Funk and Johannes Äbersold as well as numerous old master paintings, books of hours, drawings and prints. The quality and diversity of the works are reminiscent of cab- inets of curiosities from centuries past. A particular focus of the antiquities collection is the depiction of femininity in all its facets, leading to interesting references across different periods and genres. The highlight of the auction is a graceful and sen- sual torso of Aphrodite in the act of taking off her sandal before bathing, which can be dated to the late Hellenistic/Roman period (2 nd century BCE–1 st century CE), a very popular motif of the time (ill. 5). From the late Ptolemaic period (2 nd –1 st century BCE) comes a finely carved sandstone figure of an Egyptian queen, of simple design and timeless ele- gance (ill. 6). Among the earliest works in the auction is an en- chanting, symbolically carved wooden figure of the Egyptian god Anubis as a reclining jackal from the 3 1 1 Alessandro Allori (1535–1607). The Holy Family with Saint John the Baptist. Chalk on paper. 19.4 × 23.4 cm. Estimate: CHF 25 000/30 000 2 H orae B. M. V. Book of hours. Illuminated Latin manuscript on vellum. Probably Flanders, circa 1460. Estimate: CHF 30 000/50 000 3 J an Sanders van Hemessen (1500–1557). Lucretia. Oil on panel. 41.2 × 33.7 cm. Estimate: CHF 50 000/70 000 4 S tudio of Rogier van der Weyden (circa 1400–1464). Saint Luke sketching the Virgin. Oil on panel. 40.3 × 30.3 cm. Estimate: CHF 80 000/120 000 5 T orso of Aphrodite. Late Hellenistic/Roman, 2 nd c. BCE–1 st c. CE. White marble. H 34 cm (not incl. base). Estimate: CHF 80 000/120 000 6 S tanding female figure, probably a queen. Egypt, late Ptolemaic period, 2 nd –1 st c. BCE. Sandstone with traces of polychromy. Estimate: CHF 70 000/100 000 7 A nubis as a reclining jackal. Egypt, Late Period, 25 th /26 th Dynasty, 7 th –6 th c. BCE. Wood with stucco and black paint. L 44 cm, H 14 cm. Estimate: CHF 8 000/12 000 25 th /26 th Dynasty (7 th –6 th century BCE) (ill. 7). Round- ing out the collection are many other marble sculp- tures, Attic and Apulian terracotta vases, amphorae, fresco fragments and mosaics. 4 2