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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Roman 'Vechten Fort' Terracotta Sherd Collection
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Comprising a large quantity of pottery and red-ware sherds from large and small vessels, including an amphora neck and part of a handle. 586 grams total, 7-74 mm
Found near Vechten, Netherlands. Netherlands private collection. Acquired from a private collector in 2009. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman. Accompanied by a typed information sheet.
Fectio, modern Vechten, was a fort in the limes, the frontier zone of the Roman Empire, situated at the site of the bifurcation of the rovers Rhine and Vecht. Numismatic evidence suggests that it was founded by the Roman general Tiberius (the future emperor) during the 4/5th campaigns. It probably served as a military base during punitive raids. Around the middle of the 2nd century AD, the wood and earth fort was replaced by a stone fortification and occupied by the Ala I Thracum, who had previously been stationed in Britain. At the end of the 2nd/beginning of the 3rd century, the silting up of the Rhine’s arm on which Fectio lays had progressed to such an extent that access from the river was no longer possible. In the more than two and a half centuries of its existence, the camp was destroyed and rebuilt several times until the fort site was finally abandoned - as evidenced by archaeological traces of fire after a final destruction in 270/275 A.D. -
Roman Terracotta Oil Lamp with Bust of Ceres
Circa 1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Central motif of a bust of a goddess with modius (Ceres?); filling-hole in lower left field, voluted angular-tipped nozzle, base slightly raised. 41.3 grams, 80 mm
From the collection of a High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK, gentleman, circa 2000.
The lamp belongs to the type Loeschcke Type I C. This kind of lamp belongs to the early Flavian phase of workshop production. The discus decorations are related to amphitheatre and circus, to mythology, animals, everyday life, and symplegma. -
Roman Stone and Glass Bead Necklace String
1st century A.D. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £52
Restrung group of annular, oblate and tubular glass and other beads with discoid glass centrepiece. 16 grams, 67 cm long
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Roman Bronze 'Knuckle Bone' Gaming Piece
1st-2nd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Cast model of a bovine astragalus, used as a gaming counter. 16.3 grams, 21 mm
Ex collection formed in the 1990s. Acquired from a central London gallery. Property of an Essex gentleman. -
Roman Mosaic Tesserae Group
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
A mixed group of one hundred and seventy single stone tesserae of various colours and sizes. 95 grams total, 4-14 mm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Roman Bronze Steelyard Weight Group
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Comprising: a pear-shaped bronze weight with collared loop, lead-filled; a bulbous lead weight with iron loop. 945 grams total, 40-69 mm
Found near Wetwang, East Yorkshire, UK. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman. -
Roman Iron Knife with Bone Handle
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £391
With single-edged blade gently curving towards the tip; applied bone handle with diagonally striated banding. 38.1 grams, 17.5 cm
Found near Wetwang, East Yorkshire, UK. Acquired from the finder in 2007. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman.
Tools which cannot be assigned to one of the more specific categories, such as agricultural or military equipment especially knife blades, tool handles, and hones. Three methods of attaching a handle to the tang of a knife or tool are distinguishable in the Roman culter. Rivetting was used on two-piece handles (like in our specimen). Driving the tang into the marrow-cavity of the bone, which was usually packed with wood-shavings, so that the irregularities of cancellous tissue and the wood-shavings prevented the tang from twisting or slipping out (often a collar was also used with this method). Lastly, the tang could be fixed to the handle by means of an iron clip. -
British Roman Military Bronze Plate Brooch with Scallop Shells and Trumpets
2nd-3rd century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
The face moulded with a central motif of three trumpet heads all meeting at a triangular central point, in-between each outer trumpet motif is a scallop-shell like element; the reverse carry's a single rectangular lug for the spring and pin, and a single transverse rectangular tab to act as a catchplate, but appears to be unfinished. 10.8 grams, 35 mm
Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Kettlewell with Starbotton, North Yorkshire, UK, early 2022. The evidence of the manufacturing process makes this find a 'Find of Note', and has been designated by the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme to be of Regional importance. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.SWYOR-A1B317.
Mackreth notes that this brooch is uncommon in Britain. This brooch directly parallels LIN-B8C6EB and no.11664 (Mackreth 2011, p.172-173, Type 7c, no.11664, p.115). -
Large Roman Terracotta Jar
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
With narrow base, bulbous body, broad neck, carinated collar to the rim. 2.9 kg, 33.5 cm high
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Roman Bronze Ring with Bird in Profile
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
With a flat-section hoop, rounded bezel with a large bird with long neck and spread wing in profile. 3.16 grams, 22.14 mm overall, 18.81 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P 1/2, USA 7 3/4, Europe 16.86, Japan 16)
Private collection formed since the 1940s. UK art market. Property of an Essex gentleman. -
Roman Silver Ring with Inscription to the Sides
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
With a keeled hoop having a Greek inscription to both sides beneath the bezel; expanding shoulders with triangular panels engraved with palmettes; tiered bezel, the lower level with incised Greek key design to the short edges, the second level with a zig-zag pattern around the perimeter, the round top part with an incised bird motif. 10.38 grams, 27.41 mm overall, 17.36 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)
Ex London art market, 1990s. -
Roman Tall Glass Unguentarium
2nd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
With piriform body and dimpled base; slender tubular neck expanding slightly towards the rim; in pale green glass. 42.6 grams, 15.5 cm high
Acquired in the 1970s, thence by descent 2012. Private UK collection, Cambridge, UK. Property of an East Sussex, UK, gentleman.