AN ITALIAN PATINATED-BRONZE FIGURE OF NARCISSUS

The original bronze was excavated at Pompei in 1862 and is now in the Naples Museum. Reproductions were made by the Chiurazzi foundry in Naples, see Chiurazzi catalogue, no. 91.

Doris Duke purchased her Los Angeles home, Falcon Lair, high above the canyons of Beverly Hills, in 1953 and frequented it for forty years. The Spanish style house already had a storied Hollywood past, as it had been the home of Rudolph Valentino in the 1920's. Valentino named the house Falcon Lair after he purchased it in 1925, intending to share it with his wife Natacha Rambova, but they divorced almost immediately after Valentino bought the house. Valentino died in 1926, however, and the estate and its contents -- mostly Italian and Spanish Renaissance style furniture and decorations -- were dispersed that same year at auction to help pay off Valentino's debts.

Special Notice

Christie's is selling all lots in this sale as agent for an organization which holds a State of New York Exempt Organization certificate. Seller explicitly reserves all trademark and trade name rights and rights of privacy and publicity in the name and image of Doris Duke. No buyer of any property in this sale will acquire any right to use the Doris Duke name or image. Seller further explicitly reserves all copyright rights in designs or other copyrightable works included in the property offered for sale. No buyer of any property in the sale will acquire the rights to reproduce, distribute copies of, or prepare derivative works of such designs or copyrightable works.