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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Numismatic Books - Fowles & Legg - John Aubrey's Monumenta Britannica, Part I & II 1980 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
John Fowles & Rodney Legg (eds) - Fowles & Legg - John Aubrey's Monumenta Britannica, Parts I & II - Dorset Publishing co., Sherborne, 1980 - hardback with dustwrapper - 600 pp, reproduced pages of the MS with transcription, maps, index. 2.59 kg, 30.5 x 22 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - Ede - A View of the Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations 1808 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
J. Ede - A View of the Gold and Silver Coins of All Nations Exhibited in above four hundred Copper Plate Engravings - Richardson, London, 1808 - leather binding with gold blocking to spine, marbled endpapers - 74 pp, 34 monochrome plates, with separate section concerning assaying and weights and another on Sir Isaac Newton's tables of foreign silver and gold coins, assaying tales, etc. 244 grams total, 15 x 13.5 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - Le Blanc - Traité Historique des Monnoies de France 1692 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
M. Le Blanc - Traité Historique des Monnoies de France with bound-in Dissertation Historique sur Quelques Monnaies de Charlemagne, etc.- Amsterdam, 1692 - hardback rebound with full leather binding with gold titling to spine, gold figure to front 'Society of Writers to the Signet' - 536 pp, text figures and plates; 'Avertissement' bound in before title page of Dissertation. 1.44 kg, 25 x 21 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - Rogers Ruding - Annals of the Coinage of Great Britain and its Dependencies, Volumes 1-3 1840 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Revd. Rogers Ruding - Annals of the Coinage of Great Britain and its Dependencies, Volumes 1-3 - John Hearne, London, 1840 - hardback, half-calf binding with gold blocking and titling to spine - 422/520pp and 3rd vol plates. 5.58 kg total, 28.8 x 23.5 cm each
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - Cohen - Monnaies Sous L'Empire Romain - Dictionnaire Spécial 1957 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
H. Cohen - Monnaies Sous L'Empire Romain - Dictionnaire Spécial - Supplement to 9th edition - Akademische Druck und Verlaganstalt, Graz, 1957 - hardback with cloth covers, gold titling and figure to the cover - 70pp. 197 grams, 21.5 x 14.4 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - de Schodt - Miscellanea Numismatique De Bruges et Gand 1851 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
A. de Schodt - Miscellanea Numismatique De Bruges et Gand - bound offprints relating to the Numismatic history of Bruges and Ghent including: Société Royale de Numismatique - Assemblé générale annuelle de 1872, with handwritten dedication by de Schodt 'À mon ami et cher [...] le docteur Dugniolle. Souvenir affection[..]'; Le Jeton Comme Instrument de Calcul;Le Chapitre de Saint-Lambert, and other papers - rebound in hardback, full leather binding with gold titling to spine - original plates. 1.1 kg, 23.7 x 16 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - Barthelemy - Essai Sur Les Monnaies Des Ducs de Bourgogne 1830 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
M.A. Barthelemy - Essai Sur Les Monnaies Des Ducs de Bourgogne - Rolin, paris, 1830 - hardback, quarter leather binding with marbled boards and gold titling, 95 pp, 8 plates, some pencil annotations; with Spink & Son invoice dated 19/6/1984. 543 grams, 27.5 x 22.5 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - Holm - Studier öfver Uppsala Universitets Anglosaxiska Myntsamling 1917 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
Sigurd Holm - Studier öfver Uppsala Universitets Anglosaxiska Myntsamling - AB Akademiska Bokhandeln, Uppsala, 1917 - card-cover offprint rebound in hardback with cloth covers and gold titling to spine - 75 pp - author's proof copy without plates, pencilled notations - supplied with invoice from J.S.Wilson & Son dated 8th August 1978. 508 grams, 24.2 x 16.5 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - De La Tour - Atlas de Monnaies Gauloises 1892 reprinted 1968 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Henri De La Tour - Atlas de Monnaies Gauloises - Plon, Nourrit et Cie., Paris, 1892 (1968 reprint) - hardback, cloth covers, gold titling to spine - 12pp, 55 plates, map. 725 grams, 33.8 x 24.6 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - Cotton - The Coins, Tokens, and Medals of Worcestershire 1885 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
William A. Cotton - The Coins, Tokens, and Medals of Worcestershire - Privately printed, Bromsgrove, 1885 - hardback, full leather binding with gold titling and blocking - 147 pp with text on recto (right page) only - two pages loose (copied from another volume) - limited print-run of 80 copies only; supplied with letter from John Drury Rare Books of 7th July 1971. 803 grams, 22.7 x 15 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - Snelling on the Coins of Great Britain 1823 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
Snelling on the Coins of Great Britain - M.Young, London, 1823 - hardback, half-calf binding on marbled boards, gold titling to spine - 358 pp individually paginated by section, 70 plates bound in with the text - 'bookplate for J.K.R. Murray to inner front cover. 2.26 kg, 35.8 x 27 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector. -
Numismatic Books - Lindsay - A View of the Coinage of Ireland - Signed 1839 A.D.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
John Lindsay - A View of the Coinage of Ireland from the Invasion of the Danes to the Reign of George IV with some account of the Ring Money - John Cumming, Dublin, 1839 - hardback, cloth covers with label, 142 pp, 5 plates - manuscript dedication on title page: 'To Walter Hawkins Esqr F.S.A. etc. with the compliments and best respects of the author John Lindsay. Cork, July 7th 1846'. 690 grams, 29 x 23 cm
Property of a Kent, UK, collector.