ƒ RECENT INTERMEDIATE SICÁN DIADEME, ENV. 1100-1400... Lot 33

ƒ RECENT INTERMEDIATE SICÁN DIADEME, ENV. 1100-1400 AP. Height: 30 cm. (11⅞ in.) $8700-13000 PROVENANCE Jean-Eugène Lions (1929-2005), Saint-Tropez and Geneva Bettina Schwimmer, Chicago James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago, acquired from the latter on October 10, 1983 SICÁN GOLD DIADEM The crescentic plaque repoussé on the exterior band with highly stylized avians, the sheet embossed overall with stippling and ornamented with circular dangle attachments, the inner perimeter pierced overall for attachments. The U-shaped head piece formed part of a Sicán funerary face mask assemblage. For an example, see Sicán. Ancient Peru Unearthed: The Gold of Ancient Peru, 2006: p. 131. The Collection of James and Marilynn Alsdorf represents a notable achievement in the history of American connoisseurship. Steadily acquired throughout the latter half of the twentieth century by two of Chicago's most important civic and cultural patrons, the Collection is unparalleled in its breadth and quality, illuminating the remarkable feats of human artistry across time and geography. For the Alsdorfs, collecting represented a unique opportunity for exploration, adventure, and the pursuit of beauty, extending from the art-flled rooms of their Chicago residence to distant continents and historic lands. The couple's philosophy of collecting, as Marilynn Alsdorf explained, was simple yet profound: "We looked for objects," she said, "to delight our eyes and souls...." From the 1950s, the Alsdorfs were especially ardent patrons of the Art Institute of Chicago, gifting or lending hundreds of works to the museum commencing in the earliest days of their collecting. A longtime AIC trustee, Mrs. Alsdorf served for a time as president of the museum's Women's Board, while Mr. Alsdorf served as AIC chairman from 1975 to 1978. The couple's decades of generosity toward the AIC woul