Auction Highlights
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Egyptian Wooden Stela for Pa-di-Amun-(em)-ipat with Ra-Horakhty
Sold for (Inc. bp): £15,600
Arch-topped and composed of two vertical boards, coated with gesso and skilfully painted on one side; the lunette decorated with a winged sun-disc and two pendant uraei; the central vignette depicting the deceased worshipping the falcon-headed god Ra-Horakhty with the Four Sons of Horus standing behind, each with their name written above; the lower register with six lines of hieroglyphic text providing an offering formula for the benefit of the deceased: Transliteration of the hieroglyphs: 1) ḥtp-dı-͗nsw rꜤ-ḥr-Ꜣḫtı͗nṯr Ꜥ nb pt sḥḏ [.....] wsır͗ ẖntt [ım͗ntt?] 2) nṯr Ꜥ nb Ꜣbḏw dı⸗͗f pr.t-ḫrw t ḥnḳt kꜢ Ꜣpd [....] ḫt nb(t) (n) fr(t) wꜢbt […] 3) ḫt nbt nḏm dı⸗͗f ḥtpw ḏfꜢw [...]f ḫꜢ m t dı⸗͗f ḫꜢ m 4) ḥnḳt dı⸗͗f ẖꜢ ır͗p [...] dı⸗͗f ḫꜢ m ı͗[...] dı⸗͗f ḫꜢ ı(͗Ꜣ)r(r)t dı⸗͗f 5) m snṯr ḥr ḫꜢwt [...] ḳrs nfr ḥr ım͗nt nfr 6) n [..] wsır͗ [......] pꜢ-dı-͗ım͗n(m) ıp͗ Ꜣ.t ms (n) ḫꜢ [....] Translation: 1) An offering that the king and Ra-Horakhty, Great God, Lord of Heaven, the illuminated [...] Osiris Foremost [of the West?] 2) Great God, Lord of Abydos (that) he may give a voice-offering (of) bread, beer, oxen, and fowl […] everything good and pure […] 3) everything sweet, he gives offerings of provisions […] a thousand of bread, he gives a thousand of 4) beer, he gives a thousand of wine […], he gives a thousand of vines, he gives a thousand of 5) incense on the altar […] a good burial in the beautiful West 6) for […] the Osiris[…] Pa-di-Amun-(em)-ipat born (to) Kha[…]; on the verso, an old handwritten collection label reading: 'From Harding & Sm[ith] Collection Sale Sotheby 2 Nov 1922 L.N. 234. A families[sic] stele, arched top, with the deceased worshipping a standing Horus attended by the four Children of Horus and six horizontal lines of inscription in colour. SP/10a'; mounted in a custom-made wooden frame. -
Romano-Egyptian Terracotta Figure of Eros
Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,850
Depicted nude in a dynamic pose with his legs apart and the weight of the body upon his right leg, standing in front of a two storey structure, probably an oven; his left arm raised and right arm extended in front of his torso and resting on the edge of the structure; the oven painted pink at the top and white at the bottom with an offering receptacle at floor level. -
Egyptian Indurated Limestone Frog-Shaped Cosmetic Vessel
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,750
Squat ovoid in profile, modelled with the legs folded beneath the body, with hollow socket eyes, flared rim to mouth; copper lug on either side. -
Attic Black-Figure Neck-Amphora with Gorgon and Quadriga Attributed to the Swing Painter
Sold for (Inc. bp): £41,600
With inverted echinus lip and tall neck, a ribbed handle to each side with coiling lotus buds and palmettes beneath the handles; Side a) a running winged Gorgon depicted frontally, dressed in a black and red chiton; Side b) an aristocratic warrior wearing a Chalcidian helmet and driving a quadriga, the two central horses superimposed, the other two turned outward; a frieze of lotus buds and a band Greek key motifs below, the neck decorated with red and black palmettes, and elongated lotus blossoms; restored. -
Attic Red-Figure Bell Krater with Drunken Male Revellers Attributed to the Kadmos Painter
Sold for (Inc. bp): £32,500
With a high foot, laurel wreath encircling the neck, checkerboard and meander patterns alternating around the lower body, roundels of tongue motif to the handles with palmettes and tendrils below; two red-figure scenes to the body: Side a: a high-quality depiction of a kōmos composed of five figures, including a young man holding a torch, a double flute player next to three dancers, all possibly followers of Dionysus; Side b: three draped figures conversing comprising a central female figure between two opposed male figures, one holding a staff; two old labels: one with 3061-133 on the inner rim, and 113/2 (believed to be an old Christie's lot label from the 1960s by Richard Falkiner) on the sidewall, further old accession numbers 321 and 35 under the base. -
Hellenistic Gold Ring with Galley Gemstone
Sold for (Inc. bp): £29,900
With D-section hollow-formed hoop and flared ellipsoid bezel, set with a Roman intaglio depicting a war galley under sail. -
Roman 'Published' Terracotta Oil Lamp with Fighting Gladiators
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Grey fabric, broad discus with concentric rings and chamfered shoulder, short nozzle flanked by volute scrolls; scene of two murmillo gladiators in combat, one having fallen to the ground; maker's stamp to the underside 'MAR[..]S'; mounted on a custom-made stand. -
Roman Inked Wooden Tablet for a Contract Between Bassus and Neronianus
Sold for (Inc. bp): £15,600
A reused tablet with a recessed panel on one side, the last tablet of a legal document which consisted of two (diptychon) or three tablets (triptychon); ten black inked lines of New Roman cursive script, the end of a record of a transaction in formulaic legal language, probably a sales contract, between the buyer (emptor) Bassus and a person called Neronianus; traces of text (perhaps in rustic capitals) to the reverse. -
Roman Marble Head of Hercules Wearing the Nemean Lion Skin
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
Modelled with naturalistic features, gazing left, sculpted pupils and strong lids; luxuriant beard and moustache framing the face; strong forehead with tightly formed curls emerging from beneath the lion's skin hood; the hood with clear eye detailing and the mane with regularly arranged tufts; original iron pin to the front of the muzzle; mounted on a custom-made display stand. -
Roman Marble Head of Dionysus
Sold for (Inc. bp): £23,400
From a Greek original, wearing a crown of leaves and corymbs, hair falling in straight lines underneath the diadem; full beard composed of four rows of thick tufts with drilled holes; slightly open mouth with a fleshy lower lip; low cheekbones and hollow cheeks; large almond-shaped eyes with lachrymal duct; mounted on a custom-made display stand. -
'The Anglesey' Romano-British Marble Head of a Celtic Warrior
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,150
Carved with comma-leaf detailing to the hair, a low brow over almond-shaped eyes, broad triangular nose and thick moustache obscuring the mouth; mounted on a custom-made stand. -
Proto-Sumerian Terracotta Tablet with Archaic Text
Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,050
Lentoid-section slab with incised grid to each face: one with three columns, impressed roundels and crescents, grid and other symbols; the other face with four columns, each cell filled with marks and symbols. -
Babylonian Cuneiform Tablet, a Clothes Receipt from Puzur-Akum to Astaqar
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,640
Pillow-shaped clay tablet with cuneiform text to both broad faces and one edge from Garšana (iv/Šu-Sîn 8?), a receipt for various clothing, with several dedications to the deities Ninsiana, Mami, Dadmuštum and Šubula; Dadmuštum is rarely mentioned, reading: '1 tu ba-tab tuh-hu-um 3-kam us 2 1 tu ša -ga-du ba-tab tug-hu-um / 3-kam us 1 tu ta -ki-ru-um 3-kam us 4 dnin- dsi -an-na 4 tu guz-za 4-kam us 6 2 tu guz-za 4-kam us dma-mi x ? 2 tu guz-za 4-kam us / dda-ad-muš-tum R 8 2 tu niĝ -lam 4-kam us dšu-bu-la ki-la -bi 26 1/3 ma-na 10 2 tu bar-dul us-bar 4 tu sag us-bar 12 5 tu us -bar 4 ma-na 3 tu mug 14 ki !-aš-ta -gar -ta puzur -a-ku-um šu ba-ti 16 iti ki-siki- dnin-a-zu mu ma -gur -mah mu-/dim' translation: '1 (simple) garment batab tuhhum (a kind of fabric?), thrice, medium quality 1 garment šagadu (of linen) batab tuhhum thrice, medium quality 1 garment takirum, thrice, medium quality (for) Ninsiana; 4 tufted garments, in quadruple, medium quality 2 tufted garments, in quadruple, medium quality : (for) Mami 2 tufted garments, in quadruple, medium quality : (for) Dadmuštum. 2 niglam garments, in quadruple, medium quality : (for) Šubula Their weight is 26 1/3 mines. 2 bardul garments (from) the weavers 4 garments if first quality (from) the weavers 5 (simple) garments étoffes (from) the weavers : 4 mines 3 garments in coarse wool Puzur-Akum has received (these garments) from Aštaqar. In the month of Kisiki.Ninazu The year in which the big (ceremonial) boat was built'. -
Western Asiatic Ceramic Ibex Rhyton
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
With trumpet-shaped mouth, ibex-shaped finial with curved horns and legs folded beneath the body, spout to the chest; repaired. -
Celtiberian Gold Neck Torc
Sold for (Inc. bp): £14,950
A heavy penannular neck torc with carinated body and tapering coiled terminals. -
'The Dullingham' Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120
With trapezoidal headplate, shallow bow, narrow triangular foot and pelta-shaped finial, pin-lugs and catch to the reverse; the headplate with (originally silvered) angled panels to the upper corners and D-shaped lug at the middle of the upper edge; rectangular corner panels interrupting a frieze of Salin's Style I face motifs, inner plain band and raised rectangular panel above the junction with the ribbed bow; lappets of Salin's Style I profile heads flanking the junction of the bow with the footplate and vertical bar running to the finial, bisecting a cruciform panel with Salin's Style I zoomorphic forms, and outer plain lobes; finial comprising a disc with four radiating ribbed arms and central boss, pelta-shaped terminal; cleaned and one lateral lobe reattached. -
'The Driffield' Anglo-Saxon Enamelled Bowl Mount
Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
With a slightly domed profile and a raised circumferential border to the upper face; decorated with Celtic designs featuring elaborate curvilinear tendrils and triskele-style swirls enclosing an area of fine-line trumpet spiral designs, set around a central rectangular panel filled with millefiori-style enamel work in the form of an irregular chequerboard of blue and yellow enamel, the circular recesses retaining red enamel traces; two parallel rivets to the reverse. -
'The Ferryhill' Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Three-Dimensional Urnes Stirrup-Type Mount with Head of Odin
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
A bowed anthropomorphic mount in the form of the face of Odin, with oval right and damaged left eye, beard and hair raised to form a convex shape, rounded cheeks, a triangular nose and a beard, moustache with lateral protrusion, the hair openwork and formed of entwined linear elements, five rivet holes present. -
Medieval Decorated 'He who loves from the heart, gives with a good heart' Posy Boxwood Comb
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
Central panel decorated with a heart pierced by two arrows and inscription: 'qui de bon [COER] eyme', and verso openwork carving of blind interlaces and inscription: 'de bon [COER] donne', translating to 'He who loves from the heart, gives with a good heart'; probably given as a love token. -
Medieval Bronze Aquamanile of a Male Bust
Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,050
Hollow-formed vessel formed as a male bust; discoid body with chamfered shoulder bearing bands of running zigzag detailing and three splayed feet; the head with low-relief hair and rim of bosses with linear spirals, gracile facial features with lentoid eyes and slender nose, small pouting mouth; short spout to the forehead, filler-hole to top of the head with hinged cover; handle to the rear formed as a reptile with head and forepaws placed on the hair below the hinge and joining the base above one of the feet. -
Medieval Limoges Gilt Christ Crowned on the Cross
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,150
Parcel-gilt bronze crucifix with cloisonné enamel geometric ornament; separate appliqué Corpus Christi, crowned with detailed musculature; lower legs and feet absent; mounted on a custom-made stand. -
Medieval Chrismatory with Limoges Panels
Sold for (Inc. bp): £22,100
Inner wooden casket with chamfered rim and separate lid, encased within rectangular gilt-bronze panels with enamel decoration, four gilt-bronze stud feet to the underside; the lid with three nimbate figures, a female saint with palm frond and two flanking figures holding books, all reserved on a blue field with interstitial polychrome rosettes; Side A: nimbate bearded bust of Christ in Majesty with right hand in gesture of benison, left hand supporting a book, flanked by two winged nimbate angels; Side B: nimbate bust of a winged angel in a roundel; Side C: geometric repeating pattern of lozenges with floral fill; Side D: mirror image of Side B. -
Medieval Gold Heraldic Signet Ring with Goat
Sold for (Inc. bp): £28,600
Substantial D-section hoop, expanding shoulders with reserved flowers and foliage, discoid bezel with intaglio regardant leaping goat in a pelletted ring, fronds and stars in the field, enigmatic inscription 'd[..] / de.to'. -
Medieval Bronze Corpus Christi
Sold for (Inc. bp): £13,650
With flat-topped crown, hair hanging in hanks to the shoulders, long D-shaped face with domed eyes, slender figure with ribs emphasised, knee-length loincloth falling in rippling folds; mounted on a custom-made stand.
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Sumerian Stone Janiform Torso
Circa 2500 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Comprising the upper body of a nude male and a female worshipper; the male with his hands clasped across the chest; the female with her hands clasped on her stomach; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 806 grams total, 10.1 cm high (15.5 cm high including stand)
By repute from an old collection. Acquired on the US art market, circa 2004. Private collection since 2004. Accompanied by a copy of an Israeli export permit. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12083-214173. -
Mesopotamian Alabaster Bowl with Inlaid Animals
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Low dish or bowl with flared sidewall, inlaid appliqués to outer face formed as leaping animals, discs, birds and other types. 347 grams, 16 cm wide
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. -
Elamite Segmented and Decorated Schist Vessel
3rd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
Cylindrical with waisted profile and rounded underside, inner with central tube and four radiating partitions; band of hatched triangles flanking herringbone and ring-and-dot motifs. 753 grams, 11 cm wide
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. -
Western Asiatic Marble Ibex Head with Painted Eyes and Remains of Original Pigment
Mid 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,150
Carved in the round with fine facial detailing; flaring nostrils and deep-set mouth, beard beneath the chin; inlaid eyes with raised black lids framing the large pupils, curving horns with ribbed detailing picked out in black pigment; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 1.4 kg total, 23.2 cm high including stand
Acquired on the London art market, 1993. Property of a gentleman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12069-214290.
In Mesopotamian art, wild sheep, ibexes, gazelles, antelopes, and goats of various species are frequently represented in art from the earliest times until the Parthian period. -
Anatolian Violin Type Marble Idol
2500-2300 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
The schematic figure with a shallow lentoid-shaped cross-section; mounted on a custom-made display base. 36 grams total, 94 mm high including stand
Acquired in Europe before 1995. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11866-206514. -
Anatolian Kusura Type Marble Idol
Early Bronze Age II, circa 2700-2100 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
With D-shaped body, tapering shank and disc finial. 92 grams, 13 cm
French private collection, formed between the 1960s-1970s. Acquired from Bonhams, London, 23 October 2012, no.204. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages and the original Bonhams lot tag. -
Old Babylonian Terracotta Plaque with Erotic Scene
Circa 1800 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Depicting an erotic beer drinking scene, the woman portrayed nude and bent at the waist, shown drinking from a pottery vessel with a low straw; a nude male figure standing behind her with his hands resting on her waist; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 285 grams total, 80 mm (11 cm high including stand)
From the property of the late Mr SM, London, UK, 1969-1999. Accompanied by a previous catalogue information slip. -
Western Asiatic Ceramic Ibex Rhyton
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
With trumpet-shaped mouth, ibex-shaped finial with curved horns and legs folded beneath the body, spout to the chest; repaired. 803 grams, 30 cm
with a London, UK gallery 1971. Accompanied by an original thermoluminescence analysis report and photograph by Oxford Authentication with sample no.281y94 dated 16 June 1981. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12068-213298. -
Persian Terracotta Votive Group
Circa 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
Depicting seven worshippers standing around the edge of a circular platform, facing inwards towards a smaller central figure, some with outstretched arms, others holding offerings, repaired. 830 grams, 17.6 cm
French private collection, Paris, formed between the 1960s-1980s. Acquired Bonhams, London, 13 April 2011, no.61. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages. -
Western Asiatic Pottery Bowl with Two Idols
Circa 2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
Hemispherical bowl with two pinched lamps to the rim, inner face with two facing ladders, central rectangular recess with two integral bird figures, two anthropoid females placed against the sidewall; outer face with carinated rim and circumferential bands. 1.38 kg, 22 cm wide
Collected by the previous vendor's father in the early 1970s. Acquired from Bonhams, London, 13 April 2011, no.353. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages and the original Bonhams lot tag. -
Syro-Hittite Bronze Female Idol
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Modelled in the round standing figure with pinched facial features, transverse collar, applied breasts, arms bent forward, legs close together. 17.7 grams, 83 mm
Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent.
The Syro-Hittite states rose to prominence in northern Syria and southern Anatolia (modern Turkey) following the collapse of the Hittite Empire, during which time many such figures were produced and widely distributed for domestic use. Such figures, later pejoratively referred to as 'idols', depicted deities often carrying or standing with animals. The present figure's arms are positioned as if holding a lamb or other small animal. -
Parthian Bronze Bestial Figure
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
Modelled in the round advancing nude satyr with arms outstretched, long triangular face with goatee beard and two short horns above the brow, fur texture to the legs and cloven hooves, strap to the right hoof; hands opened to grip a frame or vertical bars; pellet nipples, incised Y representing the backbone to reverse. 186 grams, 11.6 cm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.