Freud's passion for antiquities

http://tinyurl.com/g75h2 (theage.com.au)

A fascinating multi-page insight into Sigmund Freud's private collection of antiquities, which included Egyptian artefacts. Written by Janine Burke, art historian and the author of The Gods of Freud, published by Random House:

"How did Freud afford his habit? His favourite antiquities dealer in Vienna was Robert Lustig, a personable young man who specialised in Egyptian, Greek and Roman artefacts. When Freud first met Lustig, he explained: 'I am not a rich man. We can trade.' Visiting Freud's rooms, Lustig's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He had never seen so many antiquities in a private home.

Between 1927 and 1938, Freud bought about 200 works from Lustig, including Isis Suckling the Infant Horus, an Egyptian bronze from around 664BC, that he gave a prominent place on his desk. The story of how Lustig acquired Isis indicates how undervalued antiquities were in Freud's lifetime. Lustig spotted the statue in a junk shop near Vienna. When he asked the price, the shop owner put the statue on the scale to weigh it, and Lustig bought it for the price of the metal."

See the above page for the full story. Probably easier to read as a single page (click on the Single Page option, bottom right of the above page).

Another shorter article on the same subject can be found at:

http://tinyurl.com/fekwu (theaustralian.news.com.au)