Auction Highlights
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Egyptian Granite Head of a Dignitary
Sold for (Inc. bp): £28,600
Carved with soft facial features and carefully executed cosmetic lines around the eye, earring, and carefully detailed duplex wig with gently wavy curls; likely from the Ramesside Period; mounted on a custom-made stand. -
Etruscan Bronze Statuette of Herakles
Sold for (Inc. bp): £18,200
Modelled in the round with a muscular nude body, his club resting on his shoulder and the hair dressed in rows of tight, close-set curls underneath the Nemean lionskin hood with cloak billowing over his left arm, the paws tied across his chest; mounted on a custom-made display stand. -
Roman Marble Portrait of a Boy as Worshipper of Isis
Sold for (Inc. bp): £17,550
Carved head of a prepubescent worshipper of Isis, with soft facial features, long nose, small downturned mouth, heavy-lidded eyes, the whole giving the face a sombre or mournful appearance; the hair textured to indicate a short cut and combed forward across the scalp, sidelock above the right ear; mounted on a 16th century carved breccia upper body with leather cuirass and pteruges to right shoulder, cloak draped across the shoulders and fastened at the clavicle on the right side with a disc-brooch; socle base; some restoration. -
Larger Than Life-Size Roman Bronze Sandaled Foot
Sold for (Inc. bp): £39,000
Modelled in the round and originally part of a monumental statue, the naturalistic right foot encased in a trochades leather sandal with median reversed tongue secured with side straps and thick looped laces; the thick platform sole slightly curved, toes and nails well defined; mounted on a substantial custom-made display stand. -
Life-Size Roman Marble Sleeping Girl from a Sarcophagus Lid
Sold for (Inc. bp): £20,800
Modelled in the half-round, nude with eyelids half-closed in sleep; a drapery partly covering the head and wrapping around the lower body under the hips; the hairstyle similar to those of the Antonine Dynasty, the peaceful face supported by the hands and the ear pierced to accept an earring; iron reinforcing rod to the feet and the right arm's armilla a later replacement; upper head restored in Parian marble. -
Byzantine Porphyry Relief with Cross Surrounded by Two Birds
Sold for (Inc. bp): £28,600
An imposing panel divided to four sections by a central cross on a stepped pedestal, the lower and upper arm with branch-like extensions; the upper quadrants with a circlet surrounding a palm tree-shaped motif; each lower quadrant with a bird in profile facing back; mounted on a custom-made display stand. -
Carved Marble Memento Mori Skull
Sold for (Inc. bp): £16,900
Carved skull on a short neck with musculature and blood vessels; mandible in place with some teeth in sockets, wisps of hair adhering to the dome of the skull; one zygomatic bone partly absent; square-section socle base. -
'The Kelton' Gandharan Head of a Bodhisattva
Sold for (Inc. bp): £24,700
Carved in the half-round head of a Bodhisattva (probably Maitreya) with fine detailing to the arched brow, aquiline nose, neat moustache and full lips; the eyes heavily lidded, urna to the forehead, long open lobes to the ears; the hair in multi-stranded curling locks gathered into an ushnisha with brow-band below; heavily cleaned, conserved, and mounted on a custom-made stand; supplied with original old wooden base with collector's label: 'Head of Bodhisattva / Fine grain schist / Gandhara, Northwest Pakistan / 4th century'.
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Old Babylonian Cuneiform Tablet from Sumu-el, King of Larsa in Babylonia, to his Officials in Various Towns Ordering them to keep a Strict Watch
Circa 19th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,235
Pillow-shaped with cuneiform text to both broad faces, both short and one long edge. 61 grams, 60 mm
From the private collection of the late Dr D.G., 1990s. -
Temple Brick Section of Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon
Circa 604-562 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,250
Fragment of a rectangular ceramic brick with remains of six columns of cuneiform text with broad margins. 1 kg, 18 cm
From the K.H. Wilson collection, Basildon, UK, before 1991. Property of a Cambridgeshire, UK, gentleman. Accompanied by an information sheet, translation, and original signed letter from Dr I L Finkel at the British Museum dated 18 March 1991.
The construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem's temple are ascribed to Nebuchadnezzar II. He is featured in the Book of Daniel and is mentioned in several other books of the Bible. -
Temple Brick Section of Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon
Circa 604-562 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,560
A rectangular section with fourteen columns of cuneiform text mentioning the foundation of a temple by Nebuchadnezzar II, translating as 'King of Babylon provisioner of Esagil and Ezida prime son of Nabopolassar, King of Babylon and Ebabbara, the temple of Shamash in Larsa..[...]'; mounted in a custom-made velvet lined display frame. 1.5 kg, 31 x 41.2 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. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12340-214698.
The construction of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem's temple are ascribed to Nebuchadnezzar II. He is featured in the Book of Daniel and is mentioned in several other books of the Bible. -
Sumerian Black Stone Cylinder Seal with Female Figures
3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
Frieze of kneeling female figures with braided hair, each supporting an item on a raised hand: a chalice, a loaf(?) and a flame; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 14 grams, 28 mm
Ex S. collection, London, UK, 1980s-2000s. -
Mesopotamian White Stone Cylinder Seal
Circa 3200 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
With frieze of animals; accompanied by a museum-quality impression and typed and signed scholarly note issued by W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder seal of white marble, 34x21mm. Four vertical rows of three animals each, largely done with the drill. Mesopotamian, c.3200 B.C. Condition fair.' 28 grams, 34 mm
Ex S. collection, London, UK, 1980s-2000s. Accompanied by an original typed and signed scholarly note by the late W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993. -
Uruk Black Stone Cylinder Seal with Seated Figure
Circa 2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Featuring three vertical grooves separating the seal into three separate panels, each drilled with a female figure seated beside pots; drilled vertically for suspension. 15.7 grams, 22 mm
From an important London, UK, collection, 1970-1990. Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. -
Akkadian Alabaster Cylinder Seal of Kiruzum (or Hurruzum), Servant of (the Goddess) Ninsianna
Late 3rd-early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
With frieze depicting a throne-room scene, seated king in tiered robe confronted by two robed supplicants with an altar and idol, two columns of cuneiform text; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 42 grams, 38 mm
From the 'S' collection, acquired 1970-1990s. The collection was seen and studied by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12245-222160. -
Mitanni Red Stone Cylinder Seal
Circa 1420-1300 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
Frieze depicting a standing winged genie facing with conical cap, both arms flexed holding up the hindlegs of two horses; two bands of ring-and-dot motifs framing a tree-of-life motif flanked by a facing figure of Nergal resting one foot on a crouching stag; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 4.7 grams, 23 mm
Ex S. collection, London, UK, 1980s-2000s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12247-222298. -
Large Early Dynastic White Stone Cylinder Seal
3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
With design in two registers framed by three bands of parallel horizontal lines; upper register, undulating bands; lower register, bird with wings spread flanked by addorsed ibexes; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 43 grams, 51 mm
Ex S. collection, London, UK, 1980s-2000s. -
Early Dynastic Shell Cylinder Seal
Circa 3000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
With incuse design in two rows; accompanied by a museum-quality impression and typed and signed scholarly note issued by W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder Seal of Fossil Shell, 38x10 mm. The design is a pattern in two identical but staggered registers. In each there are two alternating motifs: the one a simple cross with horizontal and diagonal cuts around it, the other more like a flying insect also with supporting cuts. From Mesopotamia, c. 3000 B.C. Condition good.' 6.6 grams, 38 mm
Ex S. collection, London, UK, 1980s-2000s. Accompanied by an original type and signed scholarly note by the late W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993. -
Mesopotamian Lapis Lazuli Cylinder Seal with Worship Scene
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,600
Frieze with two full-length standing figures in ankle-length robes each holding a feather towards a pillar with sun-disc above, crouching human worshipper to one side, labrys to the other; scene in two registers with guilloche border between, gryphon above with one foreleg raised, ibex below, crouching with tail raised; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 14 grams, 31 mm
From the 'S' collection, acquired 1970-1990s. The collection was seen and studied by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12248-222164. -
Old Babylonian Stone Cylinder Seal with Inscription
Early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,950
With frieze depicting a worshipper and a goddess both facing an enthroned king holding a cup in one hand, sun-disc and crescent above; the king wearing a cap and tiered robe, the throne raised on a dais and covered with a fringed cloth; the worshipper youthful with hands clasped before his chest, wearing a floor-length garment over his shoulder; the goddess wearing a tiered headdress and flounced floor-length robe, with hands raised in salutation; two pairs of smaller figures, one with a toothed weapon; column of cuneiform text reading 'ᵈNin-subur, sukkal an-na' ('Ninshubur, the approved vizier', or 'heavenly vizier'); supplied with a museum-quality impression. 17 grams, 26 mm
From an important London, UK, collection, 1980-1990s. Accompanied by a previous two page illustrated catalogue report. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12249-222296.