A 3,300-year-old Egyptian stele once owned by bodybuilding pioneer Ben Weider is set to be a highlight at TEFAF New York this May. The limestone carving, which depicts Pharaoh Thutmose IV, was gifted to Weider in 1964 and recently surfaced at a Montreal auction before being acquired by the London-based gallery David Aaron. Alongside the stele, the gallery will present a 2,500-year-old greywacke bust of a goddess, which was recently authenticated after being dismissed as a fake due to its pristine condition and 18th-century restorations.
The appearance of these artifacts at TEFAF underscores the high-stakes nature of the antiquities market, where rigorous provenance research and material analysis can dramatically increase an object's value. The stele’s jump from a $38,000 auction price to a $608,000 asking price, and the goddess bust’s $2 million valuation following its authentication as the work of the 'Greywacke Master,' highlight how scholarly expertise and prestigious fair placements drive the commercial art world.