Home > Auctions > 5 - 9 March 2024: Ancient Art, Antiquities,
Natural History & Coins
Auction Highlights:
Sold for (Inc. bp): £41,600
.jpg "Attic Red-Figure Bell Krater with Drunken Male Revellers Attributed to the Kadmos Painter")
Sold for (Inc. bp): £32,500
.jpg "Roman Published Terracotta Oil Lamp with Fighting Gladiators")
Sold for (Inc. bp): £15,600
.jpg "Roman Marble Head of Hercules Wearing the Nemean Lion Skin")
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,800
.jpg "The Anglesey Romano-British Marble Head of a Celtic Warrior")
Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,150
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
.jpg "Medieval Decorated He who loves from the heart, gives with a good heart Posy Boxwood Comb")
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
.jpg "Medieval Limoges Gilt Christ Crowned on the Cross")
.jpg "Medieval Gold Heraldic Signet Ring with Goat")
Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Belt buckle plate with loops, lateral spurs and knop finial; low-relief scene of a man grappling with a beast in a landscape with tree and flowers; mounting lugs to the reverse; old collector's envelop with handwritten text 'sceau / Carthage / combat Homme et Lion / [..] Jardin' (seal / Carthage / fight between man and lion / [..] garden). 18.5 grams, 47 mm
Found in Carthage.
From a 19th century collection based on the handwritten package.
From the collection of a London antiquarian.
Accompanied by an old hand written collector's envelope.
Cf. Wamser, L., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, München, 2004, item 471, for type.
Found in Carthage.
From a 19th century collection based on the handwritten package.
From the collection of a London antiquarian.
Accompanied by an old hand written collector's envelope.
Cf. Wamser, L., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, München, 2004, item 471, for type.
Comprising: a large bronze buckle with thick round-section loop, ribbed tongue with acanthus-leaf design in-high relief, two pierced lugs to the reverse; a smaller buckle with long plate decorated with openwork geometric forms; a small seal box shaped as a youthful head with details on hair and face, open catch at the top. 107 grams total, 39-68 mm
Acquired in Europe in 1992.
European private collection.
Cf. Baldini Lippolis, I., L'Oreficeria nell'Impero di Costantinopoli tra IV e VII secolo (the Jewellery in the Empire of Constantinople between IV and VII century, in Italian), Bari, 1999, pp.229ff, for the type of buckle.
This type of belt elements, although present in the Avar graves of the second half of the 7th century, were most likely produced in the workshops of the Eastern Roman Empire, from where they reached the Avar lands as imperial gifts or spoils of war. They could be simple fastenings for belts, or part of multiple belts, to which sabres and knives were attached, commonly used among Avars, Bulgars and Romans during the 6th -7th centuries A.D.
Acquired in Europe in 1992.
European private collection.
Cf. Baldini Lippolis, I., L'Oreficeria nell'Impero di Costantinopoli tra IV e VII secolo (the Jewellery in the Empire of Constantinople between IV and VII century, in Italian), Bari, 1999, pp.229ff, for the type of buckle.
This type of belt elements, although present in the Avar graves of the second half of the 7th century, were most likely produced in the workshops of the Eastern Roman Empire, from where they reached the Avar lands as imperial gifts or spoils of war. They could be simple fastenings for belts, or part of multiple belts, to which sabres and knives were attached, commonly used among Avars, Bulgars and Romans during the 6th -7th centuries A.D.
A pair of copper-alloy oil lamp stands with ornamental stems. 1.7 kg total, 16-25.2 cm
UK private collection before 2000.
UK art market.
Property of a London gentleman.
Cf. Papanikola-Bakirtzi, D. (ed.), Everyday life in Byzantium. Byzantine Hours. Works and days in Byzantium, Exhibition catalogue,Thessaloniki, White Tower October 2001-January 2002, Athens, 2002, nos.302-307, for the type.
This kind of stand was destined to support lamp with oval bodies, at the base of which there was a slot that allowed it to be inserted into the lamp stand. The latter was composed of a turned stem and a single, double or even triple curvilinear base, which had the shape of an inverted chalice and carried one, two or three supports which ended with horse hoof ornaments, and feet in the shape of lion's paws.
UK private collection before 2000.
UK art market.
Property of a London gentleman.
Cf. Papanikola-Bakirtzi, D. (ed.), Everyday life in Byzantium. Byzantine Hours. Works and days in Byzantium, Exhibition catalogue,Thessaloniki, White Tower October 2001-January 2002, Athens, 2002, nos.302-307, for the type.
This kind of stand was destined to support lamp with oval bodies, at the base of which there was a slot that allowed it to be inserted into the lamp stand. The latter was composed of a turned stem and a single, double or even triple curvilinear base, which had the shape of an inverted chalice and carried one, two or three supports which ended with horse hoof ornaments, and feet in the shape of lion's paws.
With gussetted rim, reverse with central roundel, obverse with cross above gamma and alpha with pointillé detailing. 26.8 grams, 27 mm
Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent.
Cf. Weber, K., Byzantinische Münzgewichte: Materialkorpus für 1-Nomisma-Gewichte, Schwelm, 2009, item 295, for type.
Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent.
Cf. Weber, K., Byzantinische Münzgewichte: Materialkorpus für 1-Nomisma-Gewichte, Schwelm, 2009, item 295, for type.
Discoid with suspension hole near rim, obverse with low-relief nimbate figures and legend to the rim, reverse with Maltese cross and scrolls. 26.1 grams, 44 mm
From the collection of an London antiquarian, 1980s.
Cf. Wamser, L., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, München, 2004, items 582-3, for type.
From the collection of an London antiquarian, 1980s.
Cf. Wamser, L., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, München, 2004, items 582-3, for type.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
With glazed upper face and basal ring, incised geometric motif of a cross crosslet with interstitial radiating spurs, with signs of sea encrustations. 562 grams, 22 cm
Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent.
Cf. similar item in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under accession no.L.2000.77.1.
Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent.
Cf. similar item in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under accession no.L.2000.77.1.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Two-piece enkolpion with hinged suspension loop, to each face a low-relief Corpus Christi with facing mask above. 29.7 grams, 62 mm
Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s.
From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman.
Cf. Pitarakis, B., Les Croix-Reliquaires Pectorales Byzantines en Bronze, Paris, 2006, item 146, for type.
Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s.
From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman.
Cf. Pitarakis, B., Les Croix-Reliquaires Pectorales Byzantines en Bronze, Paris, 2006, item 146, for type.
With flared shoulders and octagonal plaque, incuse bird with wings spread in a naive linear style. 2.74 grams, 21.40 mm overall, 18.73 mm internal diameter (approximate size British R, USA 8 1/2, Europe 18 3/4, Japan 18)
Private collection formed since the 1940s.
UK art market.
Property of an Essex gentleman.
Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 492.
Private collection formed since the 1940s.
UK art market.
Property of an Essex gentleman.
Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 492.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Piriform body with domed filler-hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 567 grams, 11.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.
Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.
Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.
Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.
Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
With facetted shoulders and octagonal bezel, central swan motif surrounded by enigmatic Greek text 'IOHMOK HΠ[.]IKO'. 12.22 grams, 25.54 mm overall, 21.20 mm internal diameter (approximate size British X 1/2, USA 11 3/4, Europe 26.92, Japan 25)
Private collection formed since the 1940s.
UK art market.
Property of an Essex gentleman.
Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, items 599, 641, for type; Stanojev, N., Nekropolen aus dem 10.-15.Jahrhundert in der Vojvodina, Novi Sad, 1989, figs.158-161, 223-224, for the type.
Similar rings have been found in the area of Vojvodina, where the military and ecclesiastical presence of Byzantium was still strong until the 13th century. The signet ring shows a Greek inscription probably made by Slavonic people using Greek letters as an 'imitation' of earlier Eastern Roman rings.
Private collection formed since the 1940s.
UK art market.
Property of an Essex gentleman.
Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, items 599, 641, for type; Stanojev, N., Nekropolen aus dem 10.-15.Jahrhundert in der Vojvodina, Novi Sad, 1989, figs.158-161, 223-224, for the type.
Similar rings have been found in the area of Vojvodina, where the military and ecclesiastical presence of Byzantium was still strong until the 13th century. The signet ring shows a Greek inscription probably made by Slavonic people using Greek letters as an 'imitation' of earlier Eastern Roman rings.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
In black glass with intricate decorative design in contrasting colour comprising eye motifs, palmettes and pellet designs. 33.3 grams, 84 mm wide
Collected from 1969-1999.
From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK.
Collected from 1969-1999.
From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK.
Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Shallow bowl with glazed upper face and basal ring, reserved geometric design of roundels and lozenges, with signs of sea encrustations. 504 grams, 22 cm
Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent.
Cf. similar item in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under accession no.1994.306.
Private collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, 1990s, thence by descent.
Cf. similar item in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under accession no.1994.306.
Page 67 of 228
793 - 804 of 2726 LOTS
793 - 804 of 2726 LOTS
