Auction Highlights
-
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'.
-
Cased Post Medieval Iron Foot Patten Collection
17th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Comprising six adult- and child-sized pattens, each a ring with extended tongue fitted with rivets to secure the ring to a wooden platform; some in a glazed wooden fabric-lined display case with labels and explanatory text, one with reproduction wooden sole and leather upper showing how the patent is attached. 6.05 kg total, 11.5-81 cm
From the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968.
Iron pattens first came into use probably in 17th century A.D., and gained popularity during the first half of that century. The original design of the patten was as one piece of shaped wood attached beneath the sole of the shoe; this evolved into to a wooden platform attached to the underside of an iron ring. The pattens were thus forerunners of the Wellington boot which came into use in the 19th century A.D. -
Large Post Medieval Bronze Crotal Bell
19th century A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £46
Spherical crotal, rumbler or 'hame harness' bell with suspension loop and two tone holes to upper half with founder's initials 'Ro / W' for Robert Wells of Aldbourne Foundry, Wiltshire; with the original iron 'pea' inside. 203 grams, 71 mm
Acquired on the UK art market. From the private collection of Mr G.B., Hampshire, UK.
Robert Wells made bells in sizes 1 to 32 and this example is near the largest ever produced. These massive bells were usually fitted to a team bell frame, set across the harness collar; Robert Wells was active in the period 1760-1780. -
Medieval Style Gold Signet Ring with Knight on Horseback
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £598
Substantial hoop with discoid bezel, low-relief figure of a charging horseman; in 10th century A.D. Italian style. 12.2 grams, 25.06 mm overall, 18.10 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q, USA 8, Europe 17.49, Japan 16)
Acquired in France in the 1990s. Property of a North American gallery. -
Agate Necklace Bead Group
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Comprising forty matching spherical banded agate beads with single median stripe, with six further beads of slightly different pattern; all pierced for stringing. 175 grams total, 14 mm each
UK gallery, early 2000s. -
Medieval Style 'Billy and Charley' Fantasy Pendant
19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
By William Smith and Charles Eaton; obverse: head with radiate crown; reverse: crowned figure with dagger and chalice. 112 grams, 10.7 cm
From the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968.
"Billy and Charlies", also known as the Shadwell forgeries, refer to a very extensive series of fake antiquities made in Victorian London by William Smith (Billy) and Charles Eaton (Charley). They were mudlarks who searched the Thames for items of value. William Edwards, a London antique dealer, made Billy's acquaintance around about 1845, and he met Charley some years later. He paid them for items of interest that they found. Billy and Charley earned money from this until 1857, when they decided to counterfeit antiquities. They cast objects from lead or pewter, cutting dies into plaster of Paris moulds with nails and knives, and bathing the finished items in acid to simulate aging. Their commonest products were medallions, but others included daggers, statuettes, ampullae and even small shrines; as they were both illiterate the inscriptions on many of the objects are nonsense. They sold their forgeries to very prominent collectors of the time who thought they were genuine. Eventually, due to the large volume of objects that were appearing on the market, they were arrested and tried at court though they could not be found guilty of any crime at the time. They were released and carried on producing fakes but their style of manufacture had become well known and they eventually disappeared from history. -
Chinese Archaic Style Bronze Vessel
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
A fang hu in Han style, of baluster form, cushion-shaped lid with four suspension loops, two lion-head appliqués, each with an articulate ring handle below. 4 kg, 33.5 cm
Ex London, UK, art market, 1990s. -
Tibetan Style Glass Eye Bead Group
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,560
Mainly comprising differently sized beads imitating traditional 'etched' agate Zi beads. 137 grams total, 34-41 mm
UK gallery, early 2000s. -
Post Medieval Dutch Glazed Ceramic Tile Group
Circa 17th-18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Comprising blue and white glazed floral and vegetal designs together with geometric flourishes. 3.16 kg total, 12.5 x 13 - 13 x 13 cm
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection. -
Post Medieval Brass Cup Weight Collection
16th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
Including 'shallow' type with rings beneath, deep 'bucket' type and others. 641 grams total, 27-52 mm
Ex Simmons Gallery, 1990s. -
Chinese Hardstone Plaque Pendant
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1
Obverse with column of two-wheeled vehicles drawn by animals, reverse with four columns of text. 39 grams, 54 x 37 mm
Ex Paris gallery, 1980-1990. From a Parisian collection. -
Seljuk Style Blue-Glazed Oil Lamp
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Squat in profile with loop handle and leaf-shaped reflector, rolled rim to the discus, long scoop nozzle. 201 grams, 15.2 cm
From an old British collection formed 1970s-1980s. From a Leicestershire, UK, collection. -
Gemstone Collection
20th century AD.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Mainly discoid and ellipsoid plaques in carnelian and other materials, with incuse images including profile bust, perching bird and others; after the antique. 25.1 grams total, 11-25 mm
Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a North London, UK, gentleman.