Ancient Art, Antiquities, Books, Natural History & Coins

Each cut and polished to reveal the attractive veins of the stone; each supplied in a labelled cardboard specimen tray. 297 grams total, 35-47 mm



From Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's).

Cut to a heart shape and polished to reveal the internal structure. 117 grams, 68 mm



From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

Comprising two rectangular matrices, each with a Carpopenaeus sp. specimen. 316 grams total, 8.1-11.3 cm



From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

A cut section showing some internal banding and bark detailing on the outside. 4 kg total, 19 cm



From Madagascar. Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's), Harwich, UK.

Composed of graduated cornerless cube beads, restrung with a metal clasp. 104 grams, 51 cm



Ex London, UK, art market 1990s.

Comprising fifty irregular specimens of rough beryl. 2.53 kg total, 34-58 mm



From Brazil. Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's), Harwich, UK.

Comprising four matrix sections with flower-like formations of quartz. 762 grams total, 9.3-12.6 cm



From Brazil. Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's), Harwich, UK.

Rounded geode section with polished borders, lined with snowball-like formations of grey, white and light blue quartz; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 23.95 kg total, 51 cm including stand



From Artigas, Uruguay. Property of a London lady.

Boxed group of colourless pyramidal quartz crystal points. 2.11 kg total including box, 42-86 mm



From Brazil. Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's), Harwich, UK.

Boxed group of rose quartz specimen bags. 3.62 kg total including box, 30-52 mm



From Brazil. Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's), Harwich, UK.

A nickel-iron meteorite (IAB). 39.2 grams, 37.7 mm



From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

A crater field of roughly 26 craters was found in the vicinity of this crater, which is estimated to date to 4-5 thousand years BP. The age of the meteorite itself is thought to be c.4.5 billion years, formed as part of the development of this solar system. The largest two fragments, the 30.8-ton Gancedo and 28.8-ton El Chaco, are among the heaviest meteorite masses ever recovered on Earth. In 1576, the governor of a province in Northern Argentina commissioned the military to search for a large mass of iron, which it was believed the local people claimed had fallen from the sky and which they used for their weapon production. The expedition discovered a large mass of metal, which was assumed to be an iron mine, and brought back a few samples, which were described as being of unusual purity. Following the legends, in 1774, Don Bartolomé Francisco de Maguna rediscovered the iron mass. He himself did not believe that the stone had fallen from the sky and assumed that it had formed by a volcanic eruption. However, he sent the samples to the Royal Society of London. In 199,0 it became protected by law.

A colossal cut section of cream-coloured stalagmite showing natural ripples. 76 kg, 105 cm



Previously from a Hong Kong collection. Ex property of a London, UK, gentleman, 1990s.

A stalagmite is an upward-growing mound of mineral deposits growing on the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited from ceiling drippings. They are typically formed by the deposition of calcium carbonate and other minerals, which are precipitated from mineralised water solutions. Limestone is the chief form of calcium carbonate rock, which is dissolved by water that contains carbon dioxide, forming a calcium bicarbonate solution in underground caverns.