French Medieval Lions sell for 12 Million

Sold for $12,102,100 at Christie’s on July 6, as part of this summer’s “Exceptional Sale,” was the 17¾" wide, addorsed pair of marble lions made in the years 1364-66 by André Beauneveu* that are illustrated at the bottom of the page.
https://www.maineantiquedigest.com/stories/letter-from-london-september-2017/6470

 

Wow! How interesting, thanks for sharing

 

Yeah, is interesting i thought. I had no idea this kind of work was going on 200 years before Michelangelo and all that, impressive.

 

Too bad they're apparently not going back to St Denis.

Nice eye candy in that link.

 

Just how long are the tails on those lions?!

 

They look too close for comfort.

 

Maybe they're Siamese twins, joined at the tail.

 

...which leads to my new vocabulary word-of-the-day, from the O.P.: “addorsed,” a highfalutin’ version of “back to back.” When I first read the O.P. I thought it was a typo, never heard the term before. Now some of us will try and drop that one into our everyday conversation, I’m sure, but it won’t be easy!

 

In the world of cameos & intaglios, there are ones with 2 heads in profile, facing away from each other, but with the backs of the heads merged. The high fallutin' word for these is 'janate', like the god Janus.

 

AMAZING $$$ for something SO SMALL!!!!! But then again, DIAMONDS are even smaller!!!!!!!! So.............

 

Agreed but, for me the really amazing thing is the date, 1364. So close to the dark ages and 200 years before Michelangelo.