Auction Highlights
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Egyptian Relief with List of Offerings
Sold for (Inc. bp): £18,200
A section of tomb wall with a central register of eight rectangular panels each containing hieroglyphs naming offerings for the deceased; the top and bottom groups of eight rectangular panels each contain a depiction of a kneeling offering-bearer; all carved in high-relief; mounted on a custom-made display stand. -
Greek Red-Figure Hydria with Combat Scene Between Amazons and Greek or Trojan Heroes
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
The vessel with integral round-section upward-facing handles, a third, round-section handle placed vertically between shoulder and upper neck to rear; laurel sprigs to the neck with traces of gilding; combat scene with Amazons (and Trojans?) below, armed with short swords and crescent shields, most wearing an exomis leaving the shoulder and one breast uncovered; volute palmettes below both side-handles, a panel of tiered and swirling volutes to the rear, all on a band of egg-moulding, repeated around the rim; possibly Apulian or Campanian; restored. -
Greek Silver Wine Strainer
Sold for (Inc. bp): £16,900
Composed of a shallow bowl and broad flange rim, two integral scalloped handles with scrolled flourishes, tapering to a loop handle with swan head terminals each with incised eye and beak detailing; perforated whirl within roundel to interior base; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. -
Eastern Roman Bust of the Daughter of Aqima
Sold for (Inc. bp): £37,700
Modelled in the round with a fragment of stand to the rear; the figure carefully carved to exhibit the delicate facial features and elaborate hairstyle; the palla drawn up over the head and falling over the shoulders to the upper arms; a diadem to the brow with foliage and tendril detailing; elaborate earrings with dangles; necklace of fusiform and tubular beads and a longer one below with piriform plaques; large disc brooch to the left breast with dangles; peplos-style dress draped across the body beneath the palla; left arm bent and hand passing across the body to grasp the hem of the palla with a herringbone bracelet at the wrist; the palla displayed pinned with rosettes to the rear panel; with inscription of thirteen Palmyrene characters above the left shoulder 'NRW' // BRT // 'QM' // ḤBL' meaning 'daughter of Aqima'; traces of red and green pigment; mounted on a custom-made stand by Colin Bowles Ltd. -
Eastern Roman Mosaic Depicting a Bird
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
In a rectangular matrix; cream, olive, pink and other tesserae depicting a bird advancing with head bowed, with banded frame. -
Roman Marble Head of a Germanic Warrior
Sold for (Inc. bp): £28,600
Modelled naturalistically in the round, directing his gaze upwards left, the eyes with sculpted pupils originally decorated with stone insertions, his face framed by voluminous short curls swept up off the forehead, sideburns and a moustache. -
Eastern Roman Mosaic Depicting a Bird
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
In a rectangular matrix; cream, olive, pink and other tesserae depicting a perching bird with rosette above. -
Monumental Byzantine Limestone Chi Rho Roundel
Sold for (Inc. bp): £36,400
Divided into six sections by Christogram letters chi and rho, two of the segments with Greek letters alpha and omega, the other four segments with floral ornaments; a laurel wreath to the edge; mounted on a custom-made display stand. -
Old Babylonian Clay Cuneiform Tablet, a Letter From a Local Governor in Arrapha to His Colleague in Ešnunna,
Sold for (Inc. bp): £8,450
Written across two principal faces and three side edges, reading: 1-2) Say to Zakur-ahum, thus says Uzazza, your brother. 3) I have read the tablet you sent me. You wrote to me as follows: 4-5)'Five nomadic Suteans plundered the district of Zippat and I sent a troop. 6-7) I drove them back. I prevented them from taking anything. 7-8) So this troop left empty-handed. It is to be feared that they will go to the land of Arrapha and raise havoc, take action!' 11) This is what you wrote to me, and I rejoiced greatly. 12) In your tablet is written:'500 nomadic Suteans'. 13) Now, your servants whom you sent to me told me this: 14) 'A troop of 1,500 men has come. 15) Among them were many men with bows.'16 This is what they told me. Now never 17) have there been archers among the nomad-Suteans. 18) Is it not to be feared that the heavily-equipped 19) part of a foreign army is here itself comprising the nomad-Suteans with their bows? 20) The (result of the) divination I found said: 'Fire will devour the base of the reed.' 21) [...] its ... will not reach me. 22-23) [Now], shall I rejoice over the heavily equipped troop (that is) there? 24) [...]. 25-26) Now investigate this troop. 26-27) Send a full report urgently one way or the other, 28-29) so that I may circulate [a swift messenger] so that 29-30) the whole country may be gathered [in my fortresses] and so that I may take action. 31-33) Moreover, earlier, nomadic Suteans assaulted the palace cowherds one evening and 33-34) carried away all the cows from the palace. They left nothing behind. 35-36) There are none left, including the cows they had been entrusted with that evening. The next day, 37) a rescue troop (sent) by Ašrum, in pursuit of them 38) went as far as the banks of the Euphrates, but 39 returned empty-handed. 39) Another thing, 40) concerning what you wrote to me: 41-42) 'Looters set up a siege instrument- kalbanatum against a fortified farm and killed people. In addition, they carried off ten oxen. 43) And Ašrum went in there. Check that 44 their oxen no longer disappear.' This is what you wrote to me. 45-46) Now, shall I rejoice in this matter, or shall I [not] [...] them [...]. 47-48) Now, is there a plunderer who can plunder on my watch? Now, when I hear (about them) 49-50) and as soon as I send a message, do I not put them on the pal? No doubt 51-52) these people are foreigners, but you consider them to be Arrapha inhabitants! Now, precisely according to what you've written to me, 53-54) I'm going to send a fast messenger to the very interior of Arrapha and carry out a check. ; repaired. -
Uruk Clay Pictographic Tablet Bearing an Economic Text Relating to Farm Produce
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
Written over two faces; lentoid cross-section. -
Italic Bronze Triple-Disc Cuirass
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,360
Matched pair of Samnite triangular breast and backplates, a suite of 'triple-disc' type, each with three repoussé panels with carinated rim, flat spandrel above and curved on the lower sides, with perforated edges to affix to a separate mail garment; rivetted loops to the shoulders for attachment of supporting straps, and similar lateral loops with portion of round-link chain in situ; mounted on a custom-made stand. -
Roman Bronze Legionary Helmet with Inscription
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
Montefortino helmet with bulbous domed skull and a plain crest knob with flattened top; plain and flat neck guard with thickened rim; the front with punched Latin inscription 'A N CFN'; the surface largely covered in marine encrustations; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. -
Exceptional Neolithic Flint Dagger
Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,980
Finely knapped lentoid-section dagger with lateral recesses and square butt; old collector's label '281'. -
Massive Stone Age British Bifacial Lanceolate Flint Handaxe
Sold for (Inc. bp): £10,400
Long blade with small portion of cortex at the upper end, sharply tapering point with edges worked from both sides. -
Viking Age or Earlier Hacked Gold Trade Ingot
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120
A slightly bent irregular bar of hacked gold with rectangular cross-section, showing evidence of compression and fracture to each end, some subtle transverse lines on both of the main surfaces. -
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Three-Dimensional Urnes Stirrup Apex Mount
Sold for (Inc. bp): £6,500
The substantial heater-shaped plaque with spectacular openwork Urnes style design, the standing beast with entwined tendrils, pronounced head at the apex, narrow ledge to the reverse and rivet holes to each corner with two rivets remaining. -
Medieval Glass Beaker with Prunts
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
Of tubular form with flared rim and applied collar to the foot, applied trails to the sidewall and four rows of prunts with applied blue-glass ornament. -
Medieval Gold Ring Set with Gemstones
Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
With a slender D-section hoop, bevelled rectangular cell set with a garnet cabochon; satellite settings at the corners, each with a green cabochon (one absent), the ring preserved in the same condition as it was when found. -
'The Fressingfield' Medieval Gold Ring with Diamond
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,860
With plain circular hoop and square diamond-shaped bezel with replicant natural diamond crystal. -
'The Wingham' Gold 'Fortune Favours the Brave' Posy Ring
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
Broadly rectangular in cross-section and constructed from two sheets of gold; the external hoop carrying an etched decorative design comprised of a row of eight-armed stars in relief with a prominent horizontal line connecting the stars; the internal hoop with Latin inscription in block capitals reading '+FORTES FORTVNA IVVAT' translating to 'fortune favours the brave/strong'; straightened.
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Sumerian Pink Stone Cylinder Seal with Processional Scene
Circa 3000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £975
With incuse frieze of human figures executed by drilling including one seated on a dais; supplied with a museum-quality impression; signed scholarly note issued by W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder seal of pink stone, 27 x 27 mm., Frieze of four walking women holding standards. Mesopotamia, c.3000 B.C. Large and condition fine save for patch of damage.' 39.7 grams, 28 mm
Ex S Collection, London, UK, 1970-1990s. Accompanied by a typed scholarly note signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. -
Western Asiatic Stone Cylinder Seal
Circa 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Frieze of two bulls and rosettes within beaded borders. 10.2 grams, 31 mm
From a private UK collection formed from 1960. -
Western Asiatic Lapis Lazuli Cylinder Seal
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
With incised frieze of a standing crowned figure offering a frond to a facing female figure with a third in floor-length garment behind, two columns of later cuneiform text to the rear. 2.7 grams, 20 mm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector; collection no.036. London collection, 2016. -
Western Asiatic Black Stone Cylinder Seal with Figural Combat Scene
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Polished haematite cylinder with incuse frieze depicting a standing profile human figure in flounced kilt and mesh tunic brandishing a dagger towards a rearing ibex, with two smaller ovicaprids at his feet, bird above his shoulder; accompanied by a museum-quality impression. 3.28 grams, 21 mm
From a Cotswold, UK, collection, item no.115; as seen and catalogued by the late Professor Wilfrid George Lambert pre 1990.
The late W.G. Lambert was Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham in the period 1970-1993. -
Sumerian Marble Bull Amulet
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Carved as a recumbent bull with head turned facing, band to the muzzle and dewlap beneath; pierced vertically at the shoulders for suspension. 38.9 grams, 51 mm
Dr S. McCutcheon, Houston, Texas, USA, prior to 1980. Acquired by the current owner from the above. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11964-209617. -
Sumerian Stone Mask Amulet
Jemdet Nasr Period, circa 3500-2900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
Carved as a triangular face with large, owl-like eyes; wide mouth and pronounced nose; drilled through the top of the head, recess to the reverse. 3.36 grams, 18 mm
Ex S Collection, London, UK, 1970-1990s. -
Massive Central Asian Bronze Figural Compartmented Stamp Seal with Engraved Animal Backplate
Circa 2300-2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
Accompanied by a typed and signed scholarly note written by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which states: 'This is round, with outer scalloped edge. The face is flat, and so is the back, with angular pierced handle mounted. The design on the face is both compartmented and open-work. It is repeated on the back with linear scratching. It shows a standing man holding a hare in each of his outstretched arms, while two birds are perched on his shoulders. The whole design is put within an outer band with the outer scalloped rim. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-2000 B.C. It is extremely large and has a rare, possibly unique design. The engraving on the back is rare with its regularly notched edges to all the creatures. The outer rim is dented, and one small section of the outer band is lacking, but otherwise it is in good condition.' 82.8 grams, 87 mm
Ex S Collection, London, UK, 1970-1990s. Accompanied by a typed scholarly note signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s with reference no.R-910. -
Large Bactrian Stone Stamp Seal with Bird
Circa 2500-2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Carved stone seal formed as a bird with the head reversed, with drilled eyes and feather detailing to the wings, underside with incuse bird-in-flight motif; neck pierced for suspension. 67 grams, 60 mm
Collected from 1969-1999. From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK. -
Large Western Asiatic Stone Stamp Seal
4th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Rectangular in plan with angled upper faces and transverse piercing; incuse design of three ibexes in procession, zigzag above; chlorite. 92 grams, 73 mm
Ex Paris collection. French gallery, Paris, 1990-2000s. -
Large Bactrian Bifacial Stone Stamp Seal with Serpent and Ibex
Circa 2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Carved chlorite bifacial seal with incuse image to each broad face: coiled serpent-body with facing beast-head; profile beast with forelegs folded beneath the body, long neck curved to the rear and head turned, holding a frond in the mouth and with another before the chest. 55 grams, 51 mm
Collected from 1969-1999. From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK. -
Bactrian Bifacial Stone Amulet with Bird and Lion
Circa 2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £520
Rectangular with lentoid cross-section, pierced through the centre; one side with a stylised bird with spread wings; the other side with a standing lion on a hatched background, facing with a voluminous mane. 18.6 grams, 35 mm
Collected from 1969-1999. From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK. -
Western Asiatic Gold Earring Pair
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
Matched pair of hollow-formed gold earrings each formed as a series of bulbs separated by beaded wire collars and with a pair of loops to each end of the shank. 4.33 grams total, 20.8-21.2 mm
From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s.