Auction Highlights
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Greek Marble Head of Dionysus
Sold for (Inc. bp): £23,400
Carved in the half-round in three-quarter view, youthful male head with stern features, hair gathered in a browband, horns to the brow; from a frieze or relief; mounted on a custom-made stand. -
Greek Marble Head of a Ruler
Sold for (Inc. bp): £31,200
Carved in the round with thick wreath of laurel leaves to the brow, short tousled hair, stern face with thick jaw; mounted on a custom-made stand. -
Roman Veined Marble Torso of an Athlete
Sold for (Inc. bp): £48,100
Standing contrapposto with his weight on his right leg and the left leg brought slightly forward; the musculature of the torso displaying well-defined pectoral muscles, prominent abdominal muscles and wide shoulders, the back with equally toned musculature and well-formed rounded buttocks; the veining of the marble accentuating the idealised anatomy; the now-absent head was most probably turned towards the supporting leg and the left arm would have been raised; mounted on a custom-made display stand. -
Large Middle Elamite Cylinder Seal of Kidnu, Chief Overseer of King Tan-Ruhurater II
Sold for (Inc. bp): £15,600
A high-status green chalcedony seal with frieze depicting a seated figure in horned headdress facing a standing figure with arms outstretched, small monkey to the legs; six columns of Akkadian cuneiform text transliterated as: 1. ki-di-nu UGULA KUŠ-MEŠ 2. GAL šà tan-dru-hu- 3. ra-te-er EŠŠANA šu-ši 4. u an-za-an ARAD 5. šà dha-te-ri-iš 6. šak(?) ì-lí-šu 'Kidinu, chief overseer of the equerries(?) of Tan-Ruhurater, King of Susa and Anzan, servant of Haterishshak, his god'. The seal's owner was an official of King Tan-Ruhurater II (circa 1450 B.C.), king of Susa and Anzan. The title used to describe Kidinu is sometimes translated 'high official', elsewhere 'horse groom' or 'animal trainer'; the Elamite deity Haterish is otherwise unknown. -
Mesopotamian Torch Bearer Stand with Lion Tamer
Sold for (Inc. bp): £46,800
A substantial torch bearer depicting a male lion or panther standing with legs firmly planted on a rectangular base, tail extending to the ground, with a massive circular shaped armature or candelabra issuing from its back and wearing an elaborate muzzle, the eyes retaining shell inlay with a circular hollow for the pupils; to the right of the beast a kneeling nude male wearing a large belt-armour and a diadem, eyes inlaid, left hand extended to the side and holding the lion's leash.
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Stone Age 'Wanel' Knapped Flint Pick
Neolithic Period, 3000-2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Triangular in section with rounded butt, narrow point (absent); inked 'WANEL' . 173 grams, 11 cm
Found Wanel, France. From an old French collection. Ex Norfolk, UK, private collection. From the collection of a South West London, UK, specialist Stone Age collector. -
Stone Age Large Knapped Arrowhead Collection
Neolithic Period, 8th-5th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Large mainly leaf-shaped and lozengiform blades. 206 grams total, 37-67 mm
Found North Africa. UK gallery, early 2000s. -
Stone Age 'Plazac' Knapped Handaxe
Lower Palaeolithic Period, 450,000-250,000 years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Cordate in plan with broad pointed butt. 492 grams, 13.8 cm
Found Plazac, Dordogne Region, France. From an old private collection formed in the 1950s. From the collection of a Norfolk, UK, lady collector. -
Stone Age Pointed Knapped Stone Handaxe
Lower Palaeolithic Period, circa 400,000-200,000 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Large and triangular form, heavily patinated. 767 grams, 14.4 cm
Found North Africa. 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. -
Stone Age 'Plazac' Neanderthal Knapped Handaxe
Lower Palaeolithic Period, 250,000-60,000 years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
Cordate in plan with broad butt; thin point 251 grams, 11.9 cm
Found Plazac, Dordogne Region, France. From an old private collection formed in the 1950s. From the collection of a Norfolk, UK, lady collector. -
Stone Age Cave Drawing of a Quadruped
Neolithic Period, 3rd-2nd millennium B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
Dressed stone panel with incised image of a horned animal in profile; mounted on a custom-made stand. 7.85 kg total, 35 cm including stand
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. -
Gigantic Stone Age 'Mauritania' Classic Teardrop-Shaped Handaxe
Acheulean Period, 1,000,000-500,000 years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Biconvex in section with unusual patination, regular profile, some cortex remaining. 1.36 kg, 22.8 cm
Found Mauritania, North-West Africa. Part of an old French collection formed in the 1930s-1940s. Acquired on the French art market. From the collection of a Norfolk, UK, lady collector. -
Stone Age Sahara Speckled Stone Axehead and Hammerstone Group
Neolithic Period, circa 6th-4th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Comprising two small polished D-shaped axeheads and one with a square butt; sub-spherical hammerstone. 394 grams total, 48-55 mm
Found North Africa. 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. -
Extremely Rare Stone Age 'Happisburgh' Knapped Flint Handaxe
Lower Palaeolithic Period, 600,000-450,000 years B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £624
A thick, hard hammer struck primary flake, the dorsal face steeply retouched on one side to form a single, long edge scraper or cutting edge; perhaps a unifacial segmental chopper of Type L ‘handaxe’' the extant cortex thin and weathered, now patchy grey in colour. 133 grams, 88 mm
Found Happisburgh, North Norfolk, UK, by John Craven on Saturday 14th July 2018. From the collection of a Norfolk, UK, lady collector. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.NMS-09F375.
A serious collector's piece from the site of the oldest known stone tools in the UK and North West Europe. -
Stone Age 'Salisbury' Knapped Flint Handaxe
Lower Palaeolithic Period, 480,000-250,000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Ovate in form with thick butt, lentoid in section, patinated white. 272 grams, 14 cm
Found whilst field walking near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK. Ex British private collection. From the collection of a South West London, UK, specialist Stone Age collector. -
Stone Age French Grand-Pressigny 'Prismatic Core' Knapped Flint Core
Neolithic Period, circa 5th-3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Carefully knapped with the scars where several large flakes were struck off, to form a beautifully prepared prismatic core which differs in the way it was produced to a more typical livre-de-beurre. 296 grams, 10 cm
Found France. 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. -
Stone Age Twydall Knapped Flint Proto-Handaxe
Lower Palaeolithic Period, circa 400,000 B.P.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Irregular-shaped flint tool with some cortex remaining; with an old inked inscription: '1802 / Twydall'. 913 grams, 13.4 cm
Found Twydall, Kent, UK. Richard Jones collection, Welling, Kent, UK, 1912-1915. Ex Rochester Museum, Kent collections. Specialist collection of J Edwin Jarvis. Ex Martin Schoyen collection, London, UK. Accompanied by a copy of an article on the site at Twydall.