Rare Life-Size Laocoön Bronze Heads to Sotheby's with $4M Estimate

On July 1, Sotheby's London will host an auction for one of just four life-size bronze replicas of the classical artwork Laocoön and his Sons, with a projected price of £2–3 million ($2.6–3.9 million). This event is significant as it marks the first auction of such a cast in London in 150 years. The bronze, created in 1817 by Auguste-Jean Marie Carbonneaux using a pioneering sand-mold method, was commissioned by British collector George Watson-Taylor for £2,000 (approximately $200,000 today). The original marble, found in 1506 on Rome's Esquiline Hill and verified by Michelangelo, was taken by Napoleon in 1797 and exhibited at the Musée Napoleon (now the Louvre). This bronze has been part of esteemed collections, including those of William Beckford and the Duke of Hamilton, and was last auctioned at Christie's in 1882 for £503. Christopher Mason, Sotheby's European head of sculpture, described it as a 'trophy' with a provenance that ranks it among the most significant sculptures available.