Including scallop-shaped belt mount with slider to reverse, ceramic head from a pipe stem and other items. 83 grams total, 24-62 mm



Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.

Including conical and other types, some with millefiori detailing. 280 grams total, 40-56 mm



Private collection, UK.

Of academic interest, copper-coated lead seal impressions including presentation scenes, hunting scenes, court scenes; one with cuneiform text. 240 grams total, 34-45 mm



Possibly made by the British Museum. From a West Country, UK, private collection.

D-section hoop and disc bezel with 'I' (or 'H') between fronds. 6.69 grams, 27.09 mm overall, 21.77 mm internal diameter (approximate size British X, USA 11 1/2, Europe 26.29, Japan 25)



From the collection of Dame Joan Evans (1893-1977), thence gifted during her lifetime to a gentleman collector friend from South East England.

Dame Joan Evans, DBE, FSA, FRHistS, enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an author and historian. She was appointed the president of the Society of Antiquaries in 1959, the first woman to hold this position, serving until 1964. From 1948 to 1951, Joan Evans served as President of the Royal Archaeological Institute. She received the Society’s gold medal in 1973. Joan Evans was honoured with a host of honorary degrees and fellowships, as well as fellowships of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Literature. She was a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur, and was appointed a Dame of the British Empire in 1976. She served as a trustee of both the London and the British museums, and as a member of the advisory council of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Restrung group of spherical coral-coloured beads with a figural pendant modelled in the half-round. 143 grams, 78 cm



Private collection, UK.

With facetted hoop, quatrefoil bezel with serpents flanking a coffin with skeleton inside; italic script legend to reverse 'jeap[...]'. 5.28 grams, 20.97 mm overall, 16.91 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)



Ex East Sussex private collection, 1970s-1980s.

Mixed group of jars and a cup with painted details. 983 grams, 80-125 mm wide

Very fine condition.

From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent.

With broad ribbed shoulders, bezel set with a silver bust of Sol Invictus. 18.87 grams, 31.20 mm overall, 20.45 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P, USA 7 /2, Europe 16.23, Japan 15)



Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.

Cruciform with a central oval loop for suspension; each arm with flat discoid bezel; engraved with anchor, ship, rampant lion, and swan motives. 12.3 grams, 35 mm



From the private collection of the late Graham Slater (1927-2024), Cambridge, UK, acquired 1980s-1990s.

Including 'Deutscher Flotenverein', two-headed eagle and other designs. 64 grams total, 18-62 mm



From the private collection of author and historian Dr DeWitt Bailey, one of the global authorities on the confederate army in the US civil war; thence by descent to his grandson.

A rare complete and undamaged rectangular plaque bearing raised, moulded text on the obverse; with hatched three horizontal bars and two pelletted between five registers, framing the letters of the alphabet '+ABCDE / FGHIKL / MN[reversed]OPq / RSTVW / +Y[Z]'; tree with berries on a hatched field to the reverse. 26.8 grams, 53 mm



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Kniveton, Derbyshire Dales, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.WMID-341C6A.

The letter 'U' has been omitted from the alphabet, as is common with such objects, as has the letter 'J', suggesting that the book was produced prior to the publication of Charles Butler's English Grammar (1633), which first distinguished between I and J. The letter Z is reversed. Hornbooks were employed as learning aids and commonly made from paper mounted onto wood, together with a transparent sheet of horn. Smaller, more portable lead-alloy examples such as this one are generally believed to have been mass-produced, whilst still falling within the genre of 'hornbooks'.

Comprising two stylised female figures in seated pose and a third standing wearing a headdress. 291 grams total, 8-15.3 cm



Private collection, UK.