Ancient Art, Antiquities, Books, Natural History & Coins

Columnar bead with sheet-gold cap to each end, each with beaded circlets and applied granule clusters, domed end with loop; possibly assembled. 17.44 grams, 60 mm



Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.

The very elaborate versions of earrings with large domes and pendants composed of clusters of hollow spheres and granulation are most typically Romano-Syrian, but they begin to be produced in the Late Hellenistic Age. They were diffused in the Levant, Egypt and on the frontier area between the Roman and the Arsacid Empire.

A collection of necklace pendants and dress appliques comprising: a hollow bead with a truncated conical shape, featuring appliques for precious stone inserts; three studs with a hemispherical dome; a pair of appliques decorated with rosette and mask-shaped elements; a pendant in the form of a myrtle berry, and another fragment. 11.19 grams total, 10-31 mm



Acquired by a Swiss family in the mid-1980s to late 1990s, thence by descent. Private collection, Switzerland, since the late 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.13023-246772.

The iconography of Hellenistic jewellery often incorporates vegetal motifs, reflecting the Greek value of fertility and a royal Greek female wearer’s obligation to produce heirs. With its heavy incorporation of plant motifs, including tendrils, blossoms, and a bursting pomegranate, the diadem design symbolises a woman’s reproductive potential and alludes to the female wearer’s social responsibility to produce offspring.

Carved from translucent red-brown amber as a profile head with stylised Archaic features, large almond eye beneath a defined brow ridge, a softly smiling mouth, and carefully delineated hair arranged in striated bands sweeping back from the face; a drilled perforation at the crown indicates its original function as a suspended ornament; accompanied by a display stand. 23 grams, 50 mm (242 grams total, 81 mm including stand)



Sotheby's, London, 14-15 December 1981, no.206. American private collection; acquired at the above sale. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13329-257968.

Amber was a prestigious imported material in Etruria, highly prized for its rarity, colour, and perceived apotropaic power. From the late 6th century B.C. onwards, figured amber pendants appear in elite tombs, particularly those of women, reflecting both personal identity and a protective role within funerary belief systems. The prominent, wide-open eye here may have served as a talismanic motif, thought to ward off malign forces and ensure the wearer’s vigilance and well-being in life and beyond the grave. This piece reflects the distinctive aesthetic of Etruscan amber carving, in which Mediterranean influences are reinterpreted with a locally expressive sculptural style.

Scaraboid type with incuse design to the underside of a nude hero facing, holding one lion by the neck and another by the hind leg; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 4.25 grams, 19 mm



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

The gem could be considered a representation of Heracles, even if the iconography is unusual, and is influenced by the Mesopotamian environment, from where it borrows the frontal image of the hero (Gilgamesh or Enkidu) fighting with two beasts. The hero is beardless and holding an inverted lion. He is acting like a master of the animals, showing eastern traits reminiscent of Graeco-Phoenician art. In the Phoenician tradition, a similar image of the god Bes, holding two lions, as posis theron (‘Master of the Animals’), is common. The type is more frequent in the Eastern Mediterranean than in the West and is found on scarabs in carnelian and chalcedony.

Plano-convex 'eye' type with incuse design to the upper face of a huntsman on a rearing horse attacking a lion; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 4.14 grams, 17 mm



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

Scaraboid type with incuse design to the underside of two opposed dancing Satyrs, heads and arms missing, possibly unfinished or cut down from a depiction of a lion and hero; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 2.75 grams, 17 mm



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

Carved from banded orange agate and formed as a flattened scarab with a striated carapace, pierced for suspension. 3.53 grams, 18 mm



UK private collection, acquired on the English market in the 2000s.

The shape of an Etruscan scarab includes: (1) the scarab gem, where the engraving of the curved back of the stone more or less faithfully imitates the anatomical parts of the scarab beetle; (2) the scaraboid, which retains the overall shape of the scarab gem but with little or no engraving on the curved backside; and (3) the pseudo-scarab, which has an image carved in relief on its curved backside instead of a beetle. All three types have a flat, oval underside which carries an engraved miniature image (device) within a decorated border which is usually hatched.

With carved anatomical detailing, the underside featuring a running stag with a long spear about to pierce its neck from behind. 1.1 grams, 11 mm



Acquired on the European art market.

Four-sided bead with an oval panel on each side: panel 1: reclining feline with frontal head with apotropaic eyes; panel 2: three-leaved plant opposite a goblet(?) with four pellets and two crosses; panel 3: a plant and a big frontal apotropaic eye; panel 4: three segments, a plant, a butterfly or a bird; accompanied by museum-quality impressions. 4.21 grams, 21 mm



From the collection of the late Mr Priday, Hertfordshire, UK, thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13339-258812.

Four-sided prisms are usually fashioned in jasper, light-coloured chalcedony and lightly banded carnelian. The workmanship is usually excellent. Largely on stylistic grounds, these seals are datable mostly to MMII (c. 2100–1875 B.C.), although they occur both slightly earlier and later.

Scaraboid type with incuse design to the underside of a winged hippocamp inside a ropework border, possibly later engraved water waves; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 2.29 grams 16 mm



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

Scaraboid type with incuse design to the underside of a winged gryphon with one foreleg raised; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 1.24 grams, 13 mm



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

An oval gemstone showing a female facing right. 0.26 grams, 9 mm



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