Live Auction 3968Forever Chic
A PLASTER CAST RELIEF GROUP FROM THE WEST FRIEZE AND STAIRCASE OF THE PERGAMON ALTAR
Lot 127 An American Grand Tour: A Corporate Collection

A PLASTER CAST RELIEF GROUP FROM THE WEST FRIEZE AND STAIRCASE OF THE PERGAMON ALTAR

LATE 19TH CENTURY, AFTER THE ANTIQUE

Closed14 October 2014

Price Realised

USD 25,000

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A PLASTER CAST RELIEF GROUP FROM THE WEST FRIEZE AND STAIRCASE OF THE PERGAMON ALTAR
LATE 19TH CENTURY, AFTER THE ANTIQUE
The inside wall incorporating the staircase depicting battles between ocean gods battling giants including Nereus, Doris, Oceanus and fragments believed to be Tethys, the components with various painted numbers including C791 and identified to the reverse to each component, in numerous sections, patches of wood filling sections
94 in. high; 114 in. wide (the main section); 49 in. wide; 17 in. deep throughout (the right hand staircase section)

Specialist note

The Altar of Zeus at Pergamon, now known as the Pergamon Altar, was built during the reign of King Eumenes II during the first half of the 2nd Century BCE on the Acropolis of the Pergamene capital Pergamon. It signified the kingdom’s maturation as a center of Greek culture. The high relief sculptures on the base's exterior depicted the battle between the Olympian gods and the Giants known as the Gigantomachy. The interior frieze depicted the Life of Telephus, legendary founder of Pergamene.

In 1878, German engineer Carl Humann began excavation of the Pergamon Acropolis and later received permission from the Turkish government to move the frieze fragments to Berlin and eventually to Berlin’s Museum Island.