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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Neo Babylonian Stone Duck Weight
7th-6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Modelled in the round with the head resting along the spine. 18 grams, 37 mm
Collected from 1970-1999. From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK. -
Western Asiatic Gold Ring with Gemstones
1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
Tapering shank with bezel formed as a segmented inverted cone, with inset cabochon emerald, replicant sapphire, and rock crystal. 6.23 grams, 20.78 mm overall, 15.40 mm internal diameter (approximate size British I, USA 4 1/4, Europe 7.44, Japan 7)
Ex London, UK, collection of a gentleman, 1970s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12267-221081. -
Seljuk Gold Signet Ring for Yusef Abdullah
12th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
With D-section hoop, scooped shoulders each with an incised heart-shaped motif, raised square bezel with Kufic inscription 'Yusef Abdullah'. 10.67 grams, 22.81 mm overall, 15.48 mm internal diameter (approximate size British J, USA 4 3/4, Europe 8.69, Japan 8)
From an old French collection believed to have been formed in the 1960s. Acquired privately as part of a collection in the early 1990s. Accompanied by a copy of a previous illustrated catalogue information page. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12268-214826. -
Bactrian Tubular Carnelian Bead
Late 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Exceptional slender tubular bead with tapering shape towards either end, carinated around the centre 8.6 grams, 93 mm
with Nefer Gallery, 1993. From a European collection formed before 2000. Property of a London gentleman. -
Islamic Manuscript Pair, The Science and Chemistry of Precious Stone and Minerals; and Book on Magic
Tangier, 1139 A.H. (1726 A.D.)Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Rebound as a hardback with cloth binding to spine and envelope flap, marbled boards; title page with naskh script text in a triangular block; text pages typically 25 lines of cramped black-ink script with red titles and diacritics; second quire with looser black-ink script, 22 lines per page with perpendicular marginal notes and numerical grids. 268 grams, 17 x 23.5 cm
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12278-220407.
The texts are (1) 'Revealing and explaining the nature of precious stones and minerals in the Science of Chemistry' by Sheikh Shihab al-Din Ahmad bin Ahmad Zarruq al-Fassi, written out by Sahnoun bin Muhammad al-Wansharisi in 1139 A.H. (1726 A.D.) (2) 'Iwamie altaerif fi matalie altasrif' (On magic) written by Iman Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Ghazali al-Tusi who died in 505 A.H. (1111 A.D.). This copy was made in Tangier in 1139 A.H. (1726 A.D.). -
Islamic Leather Bound Manuscript, A Journey to Jerusalem and the Levant by Imam Jamal al-Din Abu Mahmoud Ahmad bin Muhammad Ibn Hilal al-Maqdisi al-Shafi'i
869 A.H. (1464 A.D.)Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,720
Rebound as a hardback with full leather binding, drypoint border to covers and central geometric roundel; laid paper pages with usage wear to edges; title page with header block of calligraphic thuluth script in triangular block and several notes in different hands; each page with typically 21 lines of dense naskh script text in black with red underscoring and subdivision marks; occasional marginal notes and footnotes; one quire partly detached; extensive marginal wear to last few pages; copyist unnamed. 379 grams, 13.3 x 18.3 cm
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12274-220412.
The text is 'Muthir algharam ala ziarat alqus w alshaam' (a book on history describing the journey to Jerusalem and the Levant) by Imam Jamal al-Din Abu Mahmoud Ahmad bin Muhammad Ibn Hilal al-Maqdisi al-Shafi'i who died in 765 A.H. (1363 A.D.). The copy is dated to 899 A.H. (1464 A.D.). -
Islamic Leather Bound Chinese Qur'an, Juz' 25, Part 25
18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Rebound as a hardback with full leather binding, central arabesque foliage panel and foliage frame to front and back covers; title and end pages with liquid gold frame enclosing a pattern of geometric and floral blocks with Kufic script lozenge above calligraphic text; text pages with red-outlined rectangular panel and typically five lines of bold black-ink text with red diacritics and headers. 310 grams, 16.5 x 22.5 cm
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman.
The text is a Chinese version of the Qur'an, Juz' 25, Part 25. -
Islamic Illuminated Kufic Manuscript Page from the Qur'an
13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,210
Rectangular vellum leaf with liquid gold text and ornament, rectangular grid with liquid gold, red and green ink border, gold text with red diacritics; recto with additional panel of text in liquid gold, yellow, red and blue. 7.4 grams, 25 x 17.5 cm
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12280-220413. -
Islamic Illuminated Pilgrimage Certificate with Drawing of Kaaba for Hafsa Bin Omar al Kahtan
1250 A.H. (1834 A.D.)Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,105
Rectangular layout with two large panels, liquid gold blocks with nastaliq text, left: mosque in elevation with the body formed from Kufic text, right: city in plan with architectural features and black Kaaba; geometric frames and text, scenes from Mecca; verso with cursive presentation text. 50 grams, 56 cm wide
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman. -
Islamic Illuminated Kufic Manuscript Page from the Qur'an
13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,300
Square vellum leaf with 9 lines of Kufic script to recto and 10 to verso, black ink with liquid gold, red and blue ink diacritics and embellishments, pricked layout grid. 15 grams, 24.5 x 22 cm
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12281-220414. -
Elamite Copper Axehead with 'Animal' Face
Late 3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Plain cylindrical shaft, bulbous towards the top with an incised animal face to the rear of the shaft, the blade with a convex cutting edge. 206 grams, 78 mm
with a London, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
The type belongs to the Gernez classification of collared axes, with trapezoidal blade and cylindrical sleeve. This set of fairly standardised axes is characterised by a trapezoidal blade, a cylindrical collar with a clear moulding at its base and a marked angular moulding at its top, extending onto the top of the blade. This basic model is exclusively from Susa. -
Elamite Copper Axehead with 'Human' Face
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
With crescentic blade and rounded knot at the butt, ornamental curved edging to the upper shaft hole, a cord edge on the upper and lower shaft hole, incised band around the edge of the blade; the butt inversed, forming a bearded human face. 246 grams, 94 mm
with a London, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
The type corresponds to Gernez type H.2.H.a, axes with collar and short sleeve lined with mouldings, fan-shaped blade and rear knot. It was a variant only known in Elam and Luristan. In Luristan one identical specimen was found at Chigha Sabz (grave M7). In Elam, the majority of these axes were found in the Middle-Bronze Age (Age of Isin-Larsa or Early Babylonian Age) tombs of Sarcophagi, at Susa.