NEW YORK, NY.- An ancient Roman marble relief panel with Dionysiac decoration that was recently discovered to once have been in the collection of French writer Émile Zola sold for $1,538,500 at Sotheby’s Antiquities auction today in New York. Six bidders competed for the piece which eventually sold to an anonymous telephone bidder. It was the highlight of the sale which totaled $5.8 million – well in excess of the $2.3/3.5 million estimate. Discussing the sale Richard Keresey and Florent Heintz of Sotheby’s Antiquities Department said: “We are thrilled with the $1.5 million achieved today