LOUISVILLE, COLO. — On day one of an important two-day auction at Artemis Gallery, a superb Cycladic marble figure Spedos type, sold for $311,250. In an auction featuring museum-quality examples of Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Viking, Russian, Near Eastern, as well as Asian art from China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma and India, this circa 2500 BCE finely carved marble reclining female figure came with impeccable provenance: ex-private collection of Dr. Best (Collector of Cycladic Art) and Dr. Banting, well-known physicians in Canada who discovered insulin in the 1920s. It had been acquired in 1972 from Sotheby’s London, “Egyptian, Western Asiatic, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities” December 4, 1972, lot 178. This auction featured property from the H.J.P. Bomford Collection including this piece.

The 9¾ inch high sculpture with her arms crossed is typical of the sculpture of the Cyclades in the mid-2000s BCE known as the Spedos variety. Day two of the auction is scheduled for October 3, and will feature Pre-Columbian art from the ancient Americas, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial and fossils.  For further information, www.artemisgallery.com or 720-890-7700.