News Flash: Guennol Lioness Fetches $57.16 Million from British Buyer

The Guennol Lioness

This just in from Sotheby's: A man from England, standing at the rear of Sotheby's salesroom, battled a phone bidder this afternoon to purchase the 5,000-year-old Guennol Lioness for $57.16 million (with buyer's premium). The miniature feline-on-steroids (above), which had for almost 60 years been displayed at the Brooklyn Museum, had been estimated to bring a mere $14-18 million, compared to the $51-million hammer price.

The famed Mesopotamian limestone carving now holds the world auction record for any sculpture, as well as for any antiquity. And the sale, still in progress in this writing, has already surpassed the previous auction record (also held by Sotheby's) for an antiquities sale, thanks to the 3¼-inch object that garnered the lion's share of the total.

I suspect we may be hearing more later about the buyer. If so, I'll update. Will it be renamed for the new owner? Now THAT'S a naming opportunity!