Auction Highlights
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Etruscan Painted Terracotta Architectural Cornice
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
A fragment of amorphous form, decorated in relief with scrolling tendrils and anthemion, painted egg-and-dart ornament above, surmounted by moulded bands and a frieze of meander and chequerboard panels; remains of red and black painted pigment. -
Roman Bronze Eros Cradling Goose Applique
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
Formed as the bust of Eros looking upwards, stub wings to his shoulders, holding a goose to his chest; conical socket above each wing; eyes with silver inserts; old collector's label '1994 51.75' to the reverse; mounted on a custom-made stand; likely a socket base. -
Roman Silver-Gilt Military Buckle for an Elite Imperial Officer
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
Comprising a rectangular plate, richly decorated with embossed laurel leaves in a grid, framed with raised bosses, the buckle loop comprising opposing dragons with open mouths, holding a spherical tongue-rest, another pair of smaller dragon heads to base, the tongue with a smaller pair of punch-decorated dragon heads. -
South Arabian Bronze Bowl with Mythical Animals
Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,850
Hemispherical in form, repoussé interior displaying graduated concentric registers of stylised and mythical animals within tessellating cartouches; a low relief mesomphalos decorated with rosette at centre; geometric ornament around the rim. -
Assyrian Bronze Relief Fragment
Sold for (Inc. bp): £16,900
Displaying a corrugated rim above and below; two advancing soldiers, each striding forwards over the headless body of a dead enemy, carrying a severed head in each hand; the soldiers shown bearded and each wearing a pointed and segmented helmet with a recess to accommodate the ears, a cuirass and thigh-length tunic, with a bow over one shoulder and a sword slung from a waist belt; mounted on a custom-made display stand. -
Bronze Age Gold Bracelet with Torc-Shaped Terminals
Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,440
Of penannular form with expanded sections at the centre and to both shoulders. -
'The Oving' Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
Comprising a rectangular headplate with two panels of chip-carved Style I ornament, flanking a beast-head with triangular muzzle and two pellet eyes, raised three-sided frame and outer band of pellets above beast-heads with lentoid eyes; the shallow bow with raised median rib, flanges to the edges and punched pellet detailing; footplate with beast-head between curved pellet lines, pierced horse-head lappets, lozengiform central panel with knot of Style I limbs; two lateral discs, one pierced to accept a stud and the other with a domed stud in place; the finial a disc with human mask inverted; pin-lug and part of catch to the reverse. -
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
Displaying chased panels populated with Style I zoomorphs and geometric forms, borders of annulets, raised masks to the upper corners of the headplate; applied discoid boss to bow decorated with a rosette, addorsed beast heads below; extensive remains of gilding; pin lug and catchplate to reverse and remains of ancient repair, lower part absent. -
'The Tenby' Hiberno-Norse Viking Penannular Brooch
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,640
Comprising a round-section crescent with flared ends terminating in two curved spatulate flat panels, each with a ropework border surrounding a two-band knotwork motif; cleaned and conserved. -
Medieval Oil Painting of Sorrowful Virgin
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
The weeping Virgin with her head bowed to the left and hands raised to her chest on a dotted gilt background, an expression of pain on her delicately formed face; wearing a white veil and a black long-sleeved robe, the veil arranged as a headdress and covering her hair; on wood and mounted in a later carved wooden architectural frame. -
Medieval Stained Glass Panel With Saint Martin on Horseback
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
Shown beneath an arcade, offering his cloak on the end of his sword to the beggar at his feet; polychrome detailing; repaired with lead cames and held in a wooden frame. -
Medieval Stained Glass Panel with The Virgin and Child
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
Composed from irregular painted panels bearing mainly foliage designs and figural elements; Mary crowned and enthroned with infant Jesus on her knee, in a lobed vesica-shaped panel held with lead cames; mounted in a wooden frame with modern replacements. -
Medieval Stone Column Capital with Lion and Human Face
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
Carved in the half-round with a frieze composed of interlaced foliage with two rows of acanthus leaves and foliage scrolls, framing a lion's head on one side and a human head on the other, remains of lion's mane to the third; drilled holes to the raised surfaces and sockets for the insertion of decorative stones. -
'The Kirkleavington' Medieval Bronze Inscribed Purse Frame
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,640
The bar with central D-shaped block pierced vertically by a stud surmounted by the suspension loop, with four pierced flanges to the underside; the frame in two sections, the larger a U-shaped rod with pivot for the bar, the smaller pivoting within the inner face, both pierced on the inner face; the block inscribed to one face with capital S and to the other with intersecting Vs; the bar inscribed to one face in capitals 'A DOMINI TECVM' and to the other in coarsely incised capitals 'AVEMARIA G[R]ACIAPLE[NA]'; the smaller rod inscribed in capitals 'CREATOREN CELI ET TERRE ET IN [IES]VN'; the larger inscribed with a band of scrolled decoration and the text in Lombardic capitals 'SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA'; the accompanying letter discusses the texts (1) Ave Maria G[r]acia ple[n]a Dominus Tecum 'Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord [is] with thee'; (2) Soli Deo Honor et Gloria 'Honour and glory to God alone'; (3) Creatorem celi et terrae et inferum 'creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus'. The intersecting Vs may form a monogram for A[ve] M[aria]; the 1847 letter describes the findspot as 'found at Kirkleavington near Yarm in the sill of a brook' in the North Riding of Yorkshire. -
'The Roxwell' Medieval Gold Signet Ring of 'King's Serjeant William Skrene'
Sold for (Inc. bp): £23,400
Gold hoop and discoid bezel with incuse ropework border; incuse image of a bird of prey perching with wings spread and head turned; blackletter incuse and reversed inscription in an arc above the bird's head and pinions '·al : for : ye : best ·' (all for the best); repair to hoop. -
Medieval Silver 'Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Rutland' Royal Hawking Vervel
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,750
Or a leg ring inscribed '+Earle of Rutland' in derivative black letter script, for a female merlin or sparrow hawk (due to the youth of Edmund Plantagenet who died aged 17); the ring with a convex interior face. -
Post Medieval Gold Memento Mori Ring with Inscribed Posy 'In God Alone Wee Two Are One'
Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,680
Displaying large flower heads, foliage and a skull to the outer face, enhanced with black enamelling; interior inscribed in a cursive script 'In god alone wee two are one', together with possible maker's stamps 'D' and 'F' in two rectangular cartouches. -
Heavy Post Medieval Gold 'Love Is The Bond Of Pease' Posy Ring
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
Composed of a gently carinated hoop, the interior inscribed in cursive script 'Love is the bond of pease'. -
Post Medieval Gold 'Live Life to the Full' Decorated Posy Ring
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
Composed of a decoratively notched hoop divided into chased rhomboidal panels displaying foliate tendrils and horizontal hatching alternately; the interior inscribed in Roman capitals with the Latin phrase: 'x x x x VIVE x VT x VIVAS'. -
English Milled Coins - George VI - 1937 - Cased RM Proof Coronation Gold Set [4]
Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,700
Set comprising gold five pounds, two pounds, sovereign and half sovereign. Obvs: profile bust with GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX F D IND IMP legends. Revs: St George and dragon; date in exergue; with original Royal Mint hinged red leatherette case of issue.
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Sino-Tibetan Gilt Bronze Arya Tara Figure
19th-early 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
Modelled in the round in meditating pose with eyes half-closed and a utpala flower to each upper arm; D-shaped lotus flower dais, hollow with panel to the underside. 1.34 kg, 21 cm high
Fine condition.
Acquired 1970s-2000s. From a Japanese collection of Buddhist art. -
Chinese Style Ceramic Statue Pair
Circa 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Each modelled as a standing female figure with voluminous hair styles, hands cupping breasts, one figure holding an offering, the other with a jadeite necklace displaying a fat Buddha figure in relief. 1.09 kg total, 28 cm high each
The Kusmirek Collection, UK. -
South East Asian Bronze Rattling Kohl Pot
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
The squat body standing on four legs, an arm with bulbous terminals holding rattles; tapering cylindrical neck, everted flange rim. 322 grams, 10 cm high
From the collection of H.N., Milton Keynes, 1980s-1990s. -
South East Asian Bronze Kohl Pot
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
Composed of an octagonal carinated body, octagonal neck, octofoil neck and foot, decorated with floral and geometric ornament. 207 grams, 10.5 cm high
From the collection of H.N., Milton Keynes, 1980s-1990s. -
Chinese Tang Glazed Ceramic Bowl
Tang Dynasty, 618-907 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £39
Formed with a gently tapering convex side wall, everted rim and ring foot. 512 grams, 17 cm wide
From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s. -
South East Asian Javanese Gold Ring with Gemstone
Circa 13th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Comprising a slender hoop supporting an ellipsoid bezel with granulated tiers and claw setting, inset black and white glass or quartz oblate bead. 6.07 grams, 25.7 mm overall, 17.20 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M 1/2, USA 6 1/4, Europe 13.09, Japan 12)
Acquired 1970-2010. Collection of a late Japanese gentleman. -
Chinese Han Terracotta Figure
Han Dynasty, 206 B.C.-220 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Modelled in a kneeling pose wearing a floor-length cross-over coat, hollow to the underside, hands absent. 5.5 kg, 41 cm high
Ex Cotswold, UK, collection, 1970-1990. -
Chinese Qing Wooden House God
17th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Treen figure in seated pose on a raised niche dais, clothed in floor-length robe and long-sleeved coat with fastenings; brimmed cap to the head; socket to the rear of the body and carved bar and slot to the reverse of the base. 283 grams, 20.3 cm high
Ex North Yorkshire deceased estate, 1990s. -
Chinese Han Style Bronze Crane Finial
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
With stylised detailing and cylindrical socket. 272 grams, 13 cm high
Acquired 1980-1990s. Ex West Country, UK, collection. -
Chinese Song Glazed Ceramic Bowl
Song Dynasty, 960-1279 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £7
Formed with a gently tapering convex sidewall, everted rim and ring foot. 138 grams, 14 cm wide
From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s. -
Blue and White Porcelain Tek Sing Shipwreck Bowl
Sunk Belvidere Shoals, 6th February 1822 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Decorated with floral motifs to the interior and exterior walls, within plain circumferential borders; with original Nagel Auctions label, Stuttgart, Germany. 205 grams, 15.4 cm
Ex Nagel Auctions, Stuttgart, Germany, November 2000.
The Tek Sing (True Star) wreck is one of the famous recovery stories of the 20th century. Sailing from the port of Xiamen (then known as Amoy) in February 1822 the vessel Tek Sing was bound for Jakarta, Indonesia laden with porcelain goods and 1600 Chinese emigrants. The captain decided to pass through the Gaspar Strait, between the Bangka-Belitung Islands, and ran aground on a reef. The vessel sank in about 100 feet of water. The next morning, February 7, an English East Indian vessel captained by James Pearl, passing through the same waters, encountered debris and some survivors and managed to rescue about 190 of the latter. -
Chinese Han Ceramic Animal Figure Group
Han Dynasty, 206 B.C.-220 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £20
Including a coiled serpent, a mythical creature and a cow, all with stylised anatomical detailing. 600 grams total, 8-14.5 cm
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection.