10 December 2025 | Gallery K, Nicosia | 7:00 p.m.
Michael Kashalos — “The Lifting of the Stone and the Swings”
(Estimate: €25,000 – €40,000)
Showcasing rare works appearing on the market for the first time in decades Cypria Auctions presents its Winter 2025 Sale on 10 December, featuring approximately 160 lots spanning Cypriot art, Greek modernism, European philhellenism, Russian avant-garde, and historical textiles.
At the forefront stands a rare and important painting by Michael Kashalos, offered from the renowned Collection of Michael Ierodiaconou (1926–2009).
A landmark work by Michael Kashalos (1885–1974), The Lifting of the Stone and the Swings (“Η Διτζιμή τζιαι οι Σούσες”), leads the auction.
Drawn from the private collection of Michael Ierodiaconou, one of Cyprus’s most sensitive and discerning collectors, the painting captures a vivid scene of village life through Kashalos’s signature naïve expressiveness.
A central tree divides the canvas into two parallel narratives: on the left, men compete in lifting a heavy stone; on the right, girls play on wooden swings. Kashalos contrasts the more geometric, structured left section with the freer, more fluid brushwork on the right, creating a dynamic balance between order and movement. The stylised figures, decorative motifs, and the characteristic red-roofed church reflect the artist’s direct and deeply authentic approach to the Cypriot rural world.
The appearance of works from the Ierodiaconou Collection is rare, offering collectors a unique opportunity to acquire pieces intimately tied to the artistic heritage of Cyprus.
International Highlights
Mikhail Larionov (attributed) — Untitled (1915)
(Estimate: €15,000 – €20,000)
Attributed to Mikhail Larionov (1881–1964), co-founder of Rayonism and a leading figure of the Russian avant-garde, this dynamic composition reveals the artist’s radical approach to colour and gesture. Linear and semicircular layers of paint generate a sense of continuous rotation and internal intensity, aligning the work with the bold experimental vocabulary that made Larionov one of the most influential innovators of the early 20th century.
Cypriot Modernism
Christoforos Savva — Two early works
- Study for Nude (c.1958) (€8,000 – €12,000)
- Figure II (c.1956–58) (€8,000 – €10,000)
Two early works on paper by Christoforos Savva (1924–1968) — both acquired directly from the artist’s wife, Christine Savva — reflect the formative period during which Savva explored form, structure, and chromatic rhythm. Their interplay of cubistic fragmentation and gestural clarity reveals the conceptual foundations of the artist who would shape modern Cypriot art.
Greek Masters
Theofilos — Saint Barbara (1892/1898)
(Estimate: €7,000 – €12,000)
One of the few surviving early icons by Theofilos Hadjimichail (1870–1934), this finely executed tempera work exemplifies the artist’s synthesis of post-Byzantine spirituality and naïve expressiveness. Depicting Saint Barbara en face, holding a cross and a model of a church, the icon reflects the depth of faith and the direct, unfiltered vision that later defined Theofilos as a foundational figure of Greek folk art.
Pericles Pantazis — Meadow by the Sea
(Estimate: €12,000 – €16,000)
A lyrical seascape by Pericles Pantazis (1849–1884), one of the earliest Greek painters to establish a career abroad, Meadow by the Sea captures the delicate atmosphere of the northern European coastline. Soft tonal transitions, mist, and a sense of stillness reveal the painter’s subtle balance between realism and the early impressionistic influences that shaped his mature style. Works of this quality by Pantazis are scarce on the market.
Christos Caras — Tree (1968)
(Estimate: €9,000 – €15,000)
A monumental and deeply symbolic work by Christos Caras (1930–2023), Tree stands among the most compelling modern Greek pieces in the sale. Dominated by a large, shadowy tree placed upon a plinth within an enclosed space, the composition evokes a haunting metaphor: a once-living presence transformed into a relic, preserved like an exhibit in a museum of a vanished natural world.
The open gateway in the background introduces a subtle tension between confinement and possibility, creating a dialogue between human intervention and the fading resilience of nature. Executed with a restrained palette and Caras’s trademark atmospheric precision, the work embodies the existential sensitivity and symbolic charge that define the painter’s post-war output.
With its striking scale, emotional depth, and contemporary relevance, Tree is a powerful example of Caras’s visionary engagement with themes of destruction, memory, and the fragile boundaries between nature and civilisation.
Philhellenic & European Works
German School, Ludwigsburg — Portrait of Róza Botsaris
(Estimate: €2,000 – €4,000)
A finely painted hard-paste porcelain plaque depicting Róza Botsaris, daughter of the Greek independence hero Markos Botsaris. Executed in Ludwigsburg in the mid-19th century, the work reflects the refined romantic Philhellenism popular across German-speaking Europe. Its technical precision and excellent condition enhance its appeal to collectors of 19th-century European miniature painting.
Baron Gérard (Follower of François-Pascal-Simon Gérard) — Chateaubriand and Mme de Staël among the Greeks
(Estimate: €4,000 – €6,000)
Inspired by François-Pascal-Simon Gérard (1770–1837), this composition situates the influential Romantic figures Chateaubriand and Madame de Staël in an idealised Greek landscape, echoing the intellectual and artistic Philhellenism of early 19th-century Europe.
Historical Textiles
The auction also features an outstanding group of historical textiles:
- an Ottoman silk brocade kemha (16th century),
- an embroidered Epirus panel (late 18th/early 19th century), and
- a Skyros cushion cover with the emblematic “Great Cockerel,” symbol of fertility and folklore identity.
These textiles, preserved in excellent condition, offer rare examples of Eastern Mediterranean craftsmanship sought after by collectors of historical fabric arts.
Exhibition & Auction
All works will be on view at Gallery K, Nicosia, until 10 December 2025.
The auction will take place on the same day at 7:00 p.m.
Full catalogue and bidding information:
www.cypriaauctions.com