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Grave Relief Fragment of a Seated Woman

Grave Relief Fragment of a Seated Woman

Workshop of Wladimir de Grüneisen

Wladimir de Grüneisen was a Russian collector and scholar who contributed greatly to the study of Byzantine art. He lived in Florence, Italy, where he ran a workshop that produced imitations of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. In 1925, he organized an exhibition in Paris, in which this sculpture appeared. The Elvehjem Art Center purchased the relief from Sotheby's London in 1976, as an original Attic fourth century B.C.E. Greek specimen. After the discovery of its true origin in May 1981, the Elvehjem sought a refund for the purchase price of the sculpture, with which Sotheby's complied and subsequently donated the sculpture to the museum in August 1981 to use for study purposes. For more information on Grüneisen, see Lee Sorensen's entry "Grüneisen, Wladimir de" in the Dictionary of Art Historians.
Artist
Workshop of Wladimir de Grüneisen
(Russian, active in Italy, 1868 - 1932)
Title
Grave Relief Fragment of a Seated Woman
Date
early 20th century
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
22 1/2 x 14 2/3 x 3 1/2 in. Overall
Credit
Gift of Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co.
Accession No.
1977.3
Classification
Sculpture
Geography
Russia

Related

By 1925, created by the workshop of Wladimir de Grüneisen (Florence, Italy). 7 December 1976, sold at Sotheby Parke Bernet (London, England) auction "Egyptian, Middle Eastern, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; Roman and Islamic Glass; African, Oceanic, American Indian and Pre-Colombian Art" [lot 329, as "A Fragment from a Greek Marble Grave Relief, ca. 4th century B.C.E."] to the Elvehjem Art Center [now called the Chazen Museum of Art]; August 1981, upon discovering that the relief was a forgery by Grüneisen, Sotheby’s reimbursed the purchase and donated the relief to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called the Chazen Museum of Art]. [Last researched by Chazen staff December 2023]

  • Elvehjem Art Center. "Bulletin 1976-1977." Madison: Elvehjem Art Center, 1977. p. 59
  • Sotheby's, London. "Egyptian, Middle Eastern, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Roman and Islamic Glass, African, Oceanic, American Indian and Pre-Columbian Art." Dec. 7, 1976.
  • de Grüneisen, Wladimir and Galerie M. Bing. "Art classique: Sculpture Grecque, Romaine, Etrusque: Exposition." Paris: Collection Grüneisen,1925. pp. 25-26, pl. XXI

  • Artful Deception : The Craft of the Forger: Walters Art Gallery, 9/14/1991–11/10/1991
  • Classical Art Greek-Roman-Etruscan Sculpture Exhibition: Collection Grüneisen, Florence (1925): Galerie M. Bing (Paris, France)

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