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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Chinese Song Glazed Musician Figure
Song Dynasty, 960-1279 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £117
Holding a lute against her nude upper body, voluminous skirt resting on her hips and wearing a tall headdress; repaired. 5.5 kg, 27 cm
From a West Country, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Chinese Gilt Serpentine Dancer
Late 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
A parcel-gilt carved statuette of a female dancer in active pose, wearing a long courtly robe; head and right arm repaired. 3.3 kg, 31.5 cm
Fine condition, repaired.
From a central London collection formed between 1990-2000. -
Ca Mau Cargo Shipwreck Glazed Blue and White Tea Bowl and Dish Set
Early 18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Comprising six shallow plates with a lakeside scenes showing boats in the water, and six cups showing similar scenery. 550 grams total, 65-109 mm
Ex Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 29-31 January 2007. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Ca Mau shipwreck.
The Ca Mau shipwreck refers to a cargo of Chinese porcelain sunk between 1723 and 1735 off the coast of Vietnam. The wreck was discovered by Vietnamese fishermen in 1998. It is believed the wreck was a merchant’s junk on its way from Canton (Guangzhou) to Batavia when it caught fire and sank. The ship was carrying goods destined for Dutch traders who had limited access to China and its ports. -
Chinese Ming Glazed Model Chest
Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £59
Formed as a lidded black chest on a green rectangular base; two large handles, hinges, and a lock to the front. 1.14 kg, 15 cm wide
From a West Country, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Ca Mau Cargo Shipwreck Glazed Blue and White Tea Bowl and Dish Set
Early 18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £494
Comprising six cups with floral motifs to the inside and outside; six plates with painted floral motifs and butterflies. 689 grams total, 75-118 mm
Ex Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 29-31 January 2007. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Ca Mau shipwreck.
The Ca Mau shipwreck refers to a cargo of Chinese porcelain sunk between 1723 and 1735 off the coast of Vietnam. The wreck was discovered by Vietnamese fishermen in 1998. It is believed the wreck was a merchant’s junk on its way from Canton (Guangzhou) to Batavia when it caught fire and sank. The ship was carrying goods destined for Dutch traders who had limited access to China and its ports. -
Hoi An Cargo Shipwreck Glazed Blue and White Lidded Box Collection
15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Comprising three powder boxes with painted flower to the lid. 227 grams total, 55-59 mm
Ex Butterfield and Butterfield auction with official Hoi An Hoard labels. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Hoi An shipwreck.
In the mid 15th century a freighting junk loaded with fine Vietnamese pottery sank in an area of the South China Sea called the 'Dragon’s Embrace.' This vessel is part of the shipwreck cargo recovered off the coast of Vietnam at Hoi An. The ceramics themselves were probably made in the area of Chu Dau. -
Chinese Song Terracotta Tile with Deity
Song Dynasty, 960-1279 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £117
Depicting a flying female deity, nude except for a sheer garment wrapped around her waist, holding a long flowing strap in her hand. 2.75 kg, 37 cm
From a West Country, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Central Asian Silver-Gilt Decorated Buckle Set on Modern Leather Belt
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Comprising two silver-gilt fastening plaques, each D-shaped in section and tongue-shaped in plan with applied granules and filigree bands; one element with a pierced plaque and the other with a domed bulb topped by a facetted glass insert; to the underside of each plaque, the end of a braided leather cord forming a girdle or belt; possibly from Uzbekistan. 41 grams, 99.5 cm long (buckles 75 mm each)
Ex Silk Road Exhibition, Piccadilly, London, 2003. -
Hoi An Cargo Shipwreck Glazed Blue and White Lidded Box Collection
15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Comprising three lidded powder boxes with painted forest scenery to the lid. 269 grams total, 57-59 mm
Ex Butterfield and Butterfield auction with official Hoi An Hoard labels. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Hoi An shipwreck.
In the mid 15th century a freighting junk loaded with fine Vietnamese pottery sank in an area of the South China Sea called the 'Dragon’s Embrace.' This vessel is part of the shipwreck cargo recovered off the coast of Vietnam at Hoi An. The ceramics themselves were probably made in the area of Chu Dau. -
Chinese Han Terracotta Warrior with Shield
Han Dynasty, 206 B.C.-220 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £286
In a dynamic pose with wide stance, raised right arm with a socket and the left arm held at waist level; large head with exaggerated details, hair gathered on a high bun; separately modelled shield with a central crest. 3 kg total, 38.5 cm
From a West Country, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Chinese Tang Terracotta Pair of Boys
Tang Dynasty, 618-907 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £780
Both seated on the floor and wearing a long blue robe with red and ochre trims, and a black belt; one wearing a conical green cap and holding the stem of a lotus flower; the other with a shaven head except for a small tuft of hair on the top of the head, holding a large fruit(?) close to his body. 1.2 kg total, 13-14 cm
From a West Country, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Tibetan Banded Agate Bead Necklace String
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Designer necklace composed of large irregular round agate beads and fusiform banded agate beads. 127 grams, 54 cm long
Acquired 1970s onwards. Private collection of Michael O'Hara, Cambridgeshire, UK. Ex private collection of Benjamin Hyde-Smith, Hertfordshire, UK.