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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Natural History - Fossil Smilodon Tooth
Pleistocene Period, circa 2.5 million years–10,000 years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
The saber tooth from Smilodon fatalis, commonly known as a saber-toothed tiger. 588 grams, 20 cm
From the La Brea Tar Pits, USA. Originally acquired from a USA dealer. From an old Northern Ireland collection.
Smilodon is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the best known saber-toothed predators and one of the most famous prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats. -
Egyptian Faience Amulet Collection
New Kingdom, 1550-1070 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Comprising: black bunch of grapes; red date; blue palmette frond; white daisy rosette. 1.51 grams, 12-16 mm
From the M.S. Ciappara collection, 1930s-1950s; and the flower amulet from a UK collection, 19202-1940s. Ex Den of Antiquity, Cambridgeshire, UK, and Ancient Art, London N14, UK. Private collection of Mr T.H., Norfolk, UK. Accompanied by two previous dealer's certificates of authenticity. -
Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph Print of Thebes
1820 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Phillipeaux - Thèbes - Medynet-Abou. Combat Naval sculpté sur la face extérieure du palais exposée au nord - Proof etching on laid paper of plate 10 from La Description de l’Égypte: Antiquités, Volume II: Commission des sciences et arts d’Égypte with later backing sheet. 375 grams, 130.5 x 67 cm
From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.
Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopaedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt. The plates of this book are the first to present the archaeological sites of Thebes (Luxor). The frieze is from the palace wall of Meninet - Abou. -
Phoenician Marvered Glass Amphoriskos
5th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Elegantly proportioned vessel with marvered trails to the body, neck and mouth; handles absent; mounted on a custom-made stand. 404 grams total, 18.5 cm including stand
Acquired from Arte Primitivo, New York City, U.S.A., circa 2010. Private collection of Professor Kenneth Graham, London, UK. -
Phoenician Glass Bead Collection
Circa 6th-4th century B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £260
Comprising mainly black glass beads with dragged trails in contrasting colours; a pale blue bead with eye motifs; a hemispherical green glass bead or weight; and a triangular pendant with red, yellow, blue and white banding. 58 grams total, 9-32 mm
UK private collection formed 1970s-1990s. Property of an East Sussex, UK, gentleman. -
Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph Print of Elethyia
1809 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Charlin - El Kab (Elethyia) - Bas-relief sculpté sur l'une des faces de la grotte principale - Proof etching on laid paper of plate 68 from La Description de l’Égypte (first volume) with later backing sheet. 360 grams, 130.5 x 87 cm
From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.
Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. The book is subtitled Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l’expédition de l’Armée française, publié par les ordres de Sa Majesté l’Empereur Napoléon le Grand (Gathering of observations and discoveries which were made in Egypt during the expedition of the French army, published on the orders of His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon the Great). It was the world's first encyclopaedia devoted exclusively to the remains of ancient Egypt. The image depicts wall-carvings from the main chamber. -
Egyptian Faience Aegis Amulet
Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, 664-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £281
Green glazed composition with mask of Sekhmet with tripartite wig and solar disc; loop to the reverse. 5.47 grams, 39 mm
Part of an old collection dating back to the 19th century. Ex property of a gentleman, acquired before the 1980s. Private collection of Mr T.H., Norfolk, UK. -
Egyptian Hardstone Sekhmet Amulet
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
With dorsal pillar pierced for suspension; on a rectangular base. 1.99 grams, 25 mm
British collection formed before the 1960s. Property of L.G. Private collection of Mr T.H., Norfolk, UK. Accompanied by a previous dealer's certificate of authenticity. -
Egyptian Painted Wooden Uraeus Sacred Cobra Finial
Roman Period, 30 B.C.-323 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Carved and painted hooded cobra with sun-disc. 20.1 grams, 10.5 cm
Christopher Martin, Ancient & Oriental, London, UK. Ex James Brenchley, Sherborne, UK. Private collection of Mr T.H., Norfolk, UK. Accompanied by a previous dealer's certificate of authenticity and invoice. -
Large Egyptian Expedition Lithograph Print
1817 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Charles-Louis Balzac & Berthault - Alexandrie. Vue de l'esplanade ou grande place du Port Neuf, et de l'enceinte des arabes, première partie - Proof etching on laid paper of plate 97 from Description de l'Égypte: ou, Recueil des Observations et des Recherches qui ont été Faites en Égypte Pendant l'Expédition de l'Armée Française with later backing sheet. 220 grams, 110.5 x 66.5 cm (sheet)
From the collection of a North American priest. Acquired between 1981-1996. Property of a North American collector.
Produced between February 1802 and 1830 on the orders of Napoleon Bonaparte; published between 1809 and 1828. Just 1,000 copies were distributed to various institutions, printed on laid paper with an 'Égypte ancienne et moderne' watermark. -
Egyptian Multi-Stranded Mummy Bead Necklace Collection
Late Period, 664-525 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Comprising three restrung composition necklaces, each composed of multiple strands of polychrome beads of mainly annular and tubular types. 75 grams total, 68-76 cm long
Acquired before 1979. From the private collection of Mr F. A., South Kensington, London, UK; thence by descent 2014.
Red and yellow faience were among the new colours appeared in the XVIIIth Dynasty, but they were in use until the Late Period. It was ideally formed from a core of sand and quartz and a vitreous alkaline glaze. It was the preferred medium of Egyptian jewellers even before the Fist Dynasty, because of its malleability and its ability to imitate other more expensive materials thanks to the colour of the glaze. -
Egyptian Faience Amulet of Souls of Pe and Nekhem
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Glazed composition amuletic pendant depicting a kneeling pharaoh embodying the souls of Pé and Nekhen, spirits of the predynastic rulers. 0.52 grams, 20 mm
From an early 20th century collection. Ex Ancient Art, London N14, UK. Private collection of Mr T.H., Norfolk, UK. Accompanied by a previous dealer's certificate of authenticity.