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'.
-
Tek Sing Treasure Shipwreck Glazed Blue and White Dish Set
Early 19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Each footed with painted blue floral motifs inside and out, coil design to inner centre and signature to underside. 1.33 kg total, 12 cm
Ex Nagel Auction, with official Tek Sing Treasure labels to veso. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Tek Sing shipwreck.
The Tek Sing (True Star) wreck is one of the famous recovery stories of the 20th century. Sailing from the port of Xiamen (then known as Amoy) in February 1822 the vessel Tek Sing was bound for Jakarta, Indonesia laden with porcelain goods and 1600 Chinese emigrants. The captain decided to pass through the Gaspar Strait, between the Bangka-Belitung Islands, and ran aground on a reef. The vessel sank in about 100 feet of water. The next morning, February 7, an English East Indiaman captained by James Pearl, passing through the same waters, encountered debris and some survivors and managed to rescue about 190 of the latter. -
Hoi An Cargo Shipwreck Glazed Blue and White Lidded Box Collection
15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Comprising three powder boxes with painted floral motifs to the lid and body. 251 grams total, 56 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 Ming Marble Panel with Horses
Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644 A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £234
Rectangular slab with incised imagery in two registers: above, rectangular panels with horse, stag and bull; below broad scrolled arch flanked by two smaller versions, based on the chaitya of Buddhist temples; edges chipped. 10.85 kg, 76 cm
From a West Country, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Chinese Han Black Terracotta Rabbit
Han Dynasty, 206 B.C.-220 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
Modelled in a couchant posture with ears pricked; pigment detailing to the ears, nose and eyes. 3.29 kg, 29 cm long
From a West Country, UK, collection, 1990s. Accompanied by a thermoluminescence analysis report no.10C26042024 from Laboratory Kotalla. -
Chinese Ming Glazed Terracotta Attendant
Ming Dynasty, 1368-1644 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £59
Modelled in the round wearing a red conical hat with upturned brim, black boots and the traditional court attire of a green cross-over robe tied at the waist with ochre panels on either side; painted facial features with clear eyes and eyebrows; left hand raised supporting a tiered object, probably a musical instrument; on a stepped square base. 295 grams, 17 cm
Ex North Yorkshire, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Nanking Cargo Shipwreck Gilt Glazed Blue and White Dish
Early 18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Of wide profile with shallow foot, painted floral motifs with a gilt lotus flower. 107 grams, 13.4 cm
Ex Christie's, Amsterdam, 28 April-2 May 1985. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Nanking shipwreck.
On Monday 3rd January 1752, the Dutch East India Company ship Geldermalsen, struck a reef on her return journey to the Netherlands and sank in the South China Sea. The cargo of Chinese porcelain was originally potted in Jingdezhen, Jiangzi province. The cargo was recovered by Captain Michael Hatcher and his team in 1985. -
Chinese Rock Crystal Plaques with Animal Faces
17th-18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Matched pair, each a plano-convex appliqué with carved facial features, hatched band to the brow and chin, two countersunk eyes flanking a carinated nose. 42.1 grams total, 42 mm each (436 grams total, 25 x 15 cm including box)
with a London, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s. -
Tek Sing Treasure Shipwreck Glazed Blue and White Dish Set
Early 19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Each footed with painted blue floral motifs inside and out, double circumferential lines to the upper edge. 1.42 kg total, 15 cm
Ex Nagel Auction, with official Tek Sing Treasure labels to veso. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Tek Sing shipwreck.
The Tek Sing (True Star) wreck is one of the famous recovery stories of the 20th century. Sailing from the port of Xiamen (then known as Amoy) in February 1822 the vessel Tek Sing was bound for Jakarta, Indonesia laden with porcelain goods and 1600 Chinese emigrants. The captain decided to pass through the Gaspar Strait, between the Bangka-Belitung Islands, and ran aground on a reef. The vessel sank in about 100 feet of water. The next morning, February 7, an English East Indiaman captained by James Pearl, passing through the same waters, encountered debris and some survivors and managed to rescue about 190 of the latter. -
Chinese Tang Glazed Dish
Tang Dynasty, 618-907 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £59
Conical profile with green glaze to the walls, unglazed base with wide foot. 279 grams, 15.5 cm
Ex W.C. collection, UK. -
Chinese Northern Qi Terracotta Attendant
Northern Qi Period, 550-577 A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £46
Hollow-formed terracotta figure depicting a male guard or attendant standing with his arms at his sides; painted detailing to the hair and face, white pigment coating to the body, red to the tunic; wearing an outer coat with long sleeves and turned collar, baggy trousers and shoes; right hand empty with a hole to accept a model weapon. 587 grams, 26 cm
Ex North Yorkshire, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Tek Sing Treasure Shipwreck Glazed Blue and White Bowl Set
Early 19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Each footed with painted blue floral motifs and circumferential lines, design to inner centre and signature to underside. 1.2 kg total, 12.7 cm
Ex Nagel Auction, with official Tek Sing Treasure labels to veso. Accompanied by an illustrated information sheet about the Tek Sing shipwreck.
The Tek Sing (True Star) wreck is one of the famous recovery stories of the 20th century. Sailing from the port of Xiamen (then known as Amoy) in February 1822 the vessel Tek Sing was bound for Jakarta, Indonesia laden with porcelain goods and 1600 Chinese emigrants. The captain decided to pass through the Gaspar Strait, between the Bangka-Belitung Islands, and ran aground on a reef. The vessel sank in about 100 feet of water. The next morning, February 7, an English East Indiaman captained by James Pearl, passing through the same waters, encountered debris and some survivors and managed to rescue about 190 of the latter. -
Chinese Neolithic Painted Pottery Jar
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
With piriform body and high shoulder, low neck with everted rim and two loop handles to the shoulder; the upper body with painted chevrons and pellets. 1.8 kg, 23.5 cm
From a West Country, UK, collection, 1990s.