Ancient Art, Antiquities, Books, Natural History & Coins

Large rectangular shrine-shaped pectoral with subtle cavetto cornice top; obverse with black-painted Anubis reclining on a low pedestal, the reverse with two stylised tyet flanking a djed pillar; four piercings through the rear edge. 20 grams, 45 mm



From a 20th century UK collection.

Modelled seated on a tongue-shaped base, with simple facial detailing and a suspension loop to the back. 5.76 grams, 21 mm



UK private collection before 2000. London collection, acquired on the UK art market.

The goddess Bastet was believed to be the daughter of the sun god and was shown with the features of a lion up until about 1000 B.C., when she was first portrayed as a cat or human with a cat head. As the daughter of Ra, she was associated with the rage inherent in the sun god's eye, which was considered to be his instrument of vengeance. Her development into a cat goddess occurred during the New Kingdom, but did not fully develop until the Late Period. She was still associated with the destructive power of the sun and was shown on the prow of the solar boat, decapitating the evil serpent Apophis in the Book of the Dead. The maternal, protective and hunting characteristics of the cat are obvious in Bastet, and she was seen as a protector of pregnant women and young children. In the Pyramid Texts, she is invoked by the deceased king to act as his protector and to help him reach the sky to join the sun god; the king proclaims that Bastet is his mother and nurse. Like her counterpart, Sekhmet, Bastet has an aggressive side and, in a text from Karnak, Amenhotep II described his enemies being slaughtered like the victims of Bastet. The goddess had a shrine at Karnak, where she is known as the 'Lady of Asheru', which aligns her closely with the goddess Mut, the consort of Amun-Ra. Her most famous shrine was in the north-east Delta region, at Bubastis, and was known as Per-Bastet or 'the House of Bastet.' Herodotus describes the festival of Bastet as one of the most elaborate in all of Egypt and identifies her with the Greek Artemis. Cemeteries of cats have been excavated at Bubastis, and at Saqqara and Memphis.

Carved in the round with closed wings and a slightly curving body, pierced through the body for suspension. 3.7 grams, 26 mm



From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.

The depiction somewhat resembles a cicada, although this would be very rare in ancient Egyptian plastic arts. The grasshopper and the locust were known in Egyptian as sꜣnḥm or snḥm. Although the insect was often depicted in Old Kingdom tomb scenes, it appeared in various other forms of visual art, such as amulets, cosmetic vessels, and beads, only during the New Kingdom, when it served as a symbol of regeneration.

Carved architectural block fragment comprising: a shallow niche with arched top and parallel sides, with concentric mouldings to create a reveal and ledge below to accept offerings; horizontal tiered base; attachment sockets for two figurines (absent) flanking the niche; to left, a column modelled in the half-round with two parallel vertical stems, shallow roundel to the base and stylised foliage at the top; pediment above with scooped profile; above each figurine an incised initial, 'A' and 'M'; facing surface keyed for plaster finish. 57.55 kg, 49 cm



From the estate and private collection of Matthew Upham (1962-2025), an antiques trader from Budleigh Salterton, Devon, UK. Acquired at an estate sale at auction. Property of a Cambridgeshire, UK, gentleman. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no. 13297-255939.

In the Christian Roman Empire, the stelae in the form of aedicula, which could be funerary monuments with crosses or the images of the deceased, or devotional niches with images of saints, appear to be independent sculptures. These stelae consisted of a rectangular body surmounted by a circular arch or trapezoidal structure. At the centre of the niche, the deceased was often depicted full-length, in a praying position (orans). Devotional stelae were also placed inside a church or shrine, with images of the Virgin and Child, or saints.

Tongue-shaped with low rounded pad on the underside, raised edge with low-relief decoration of grape vines and leaves, the edge with pairs of opposing doves eating grapes; dedicatory Demotic inscription on the underside. 87 grams, 55 mm



Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12575-232108.

These vessels were used as liturgical objects for church offerings or ritual, and were extensively employed from late antiquity in ecclesiastical contexts.

Small alabastron in banded Egyptian calcite-alabaster, pointed ovoid body and tall neck divided by a broad annular collar and finished with a plain straight rim. 7.71 grams, 44 mm



Acquired on the European art market in 1990s. English private collection.

A well-attested type produced from the Twenty-Seventh Dynasty through the Ptolemaic period and continuing into the early Julio-Claudian era.

Scarab with incuse image to the underside of Fortuna with cornucopia and ship's rudder; in later gold swivel ring. 4.34 grams, 22.63 mm overall, 19.34 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)



Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the English art market.

Cylindrical with echinus mouth and stepped torus foot, on the body a dynamic scene consisting of four rearing horses, side-by-side and wearing harnesses, nestled between the horses a standing warrior wearing a crested helmet, behind the horses an advancing warrior wearing a plumed helmet, holding a long spear in his raised hand a round shield in the other; before the horses a fleeing opponent in a running pose, facing back and holding a spear in one hand while protecting himself with a shield held in the other; long tongue motifs on the shoulder; restored. 472 grams, 23.5 cm



Ex Bonhams, Knightsbridge, London, 1990s. Private collection, Suffolk.

The scene depicts a battle between hoplites, possibly an episode from the Iliad. Originally, one or two of the combatants were positioned on a chariot; four horses from it remain visible. The scene may represent the wounding of Ares, the god of war, as he is pursued by Diomedes and accompanied by the goddess Pallas, whose helmet is emerging from behind the horses.

Broad and shallow with two strap handles, an advancing figure holding a shield at the tondo, outside with a figural frieze of two robed figures in discussion, seated on churule chairs, an attendant behind the left figure, a rider on horseback on each side of the scene; restored. 373 grams, 26 cm



From a German collection, pre 1970. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13316-258818.

The present piece is a wide-bowled drinking cup known as a kylix - one of the most popular forms of pottery from the Achaean times (1600-1100 B.C.) through to the classical period (c.510-323 B.C.). It dates to an important moment in the development of Greek ceramics, just as the black-figure technique was being perfected by Athenian painters. Painted in black slip with details incised on top, kylikes usually had a frieze around the outside of the bowl as well as another scene on the tondo of the inside.

Mammiform body with flared pedestal base and two loop handles to the rim; each side with a facing image of an owl between laurel fronds; concentric circles to the base, Attic workmanship. 115 grams, 14.1 cm wide



Bonhams, Knightsbridge, London, 5 July 1994, no.39. Private collection, Suffolk.

Shallow with arched loop handles below the rim, low stepped foot; tondo with painted wreath of laurel leaves surrounding a standing swan in profile; to the outer face, two horizontal sprigs of laurel leaves; possibly by the Swan painter. 206 grams, 20.6 cm



Bonhams, Knightsbridge, London, 5 July 1994, no.43. Private collection, Suffolk. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams cataloguing pages.

With flared and carinated foot, broad stem, ovoid body, carinated shoulder, everted rim with lip, D-shaped antefixes and lateral pendant loop handles; band of ivy to the neck and meander to the lower edge, frieze with figural scenes: Side A - seated female with thyrsos pointing towards Eros with head turned regarding her, wings spread; Side B - seated female in tiered robe pointing towards standing Eros with wreath, objects in the field; by the Ascoli Satriano Painter; restored. 1.82 grams, 33.5 cm



Ex private collection, previously with Bonhams Auctions, Bond Street, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13353-259030.

Female heads and Eros figures are common features on the vases attributed to the Ascoli Satriano Painter. His real name is unknown, and he has been named after a northern Apulian town, where many of his vases have been found.