Ancient Art, Antiquities, Books, Natural History, Stamps & Coins

Round-section shank flaring to a broad cutting edge, rounded butt. 775 grams, 18.2 cm



Found Libya, North Africa. From an old Dutch collection, acquired before 2000 A.D. Acquired from an auction in the Netherlands. From the private collection of a S.W. London, UK, gentleman.

Discordial form, biconvex with intricate re-sharpening; inked legend 'Pierrepont 14 22.12.93'. 142 grams, 69 mm



Found Pierrepont, Calvados, Normandy, France. Acquired on the UK art market in the 2020s. From a private collection.

Attributed to Neanderthal man.

Including triangular-section microlith side-scrapers and a larger blade with cortex to one face; inked findspots 'Crooksbury', 'Farnham', 'Swallow-hole' and other notations. 21.1 grams total, 23-62 mm



Found Swallow-Hole and Crooksbury, near Farnham, Surrey, UK, circa 1938. Found during the original official excavations in the Farnham area, Surrey, UK, which were conducted by Harold Falkner (1875-1963) and William Francis Rankine (c.1877-1962), who were instrumental in the excavation works and pit dwellings at sites including Six Bells, Frensham, Tilford, Thursley and Bagshot, and Waverley, amongst others, at and near Farnham in the 1930s and 1940s. Much of the material is now in the prestigious Farnham museum. The present part of the collection having been gifted to their good friend and Haselmere Parish Priest, Charles Borelli (c.1914-2000) of Farnham, who was part of the Borelli family from Italy who emigrated from Lake Como in 1828 to set up the Borelli family watch and jewellery business; thence by family descent to his nephew.

Farnham district is one of the most interesting prehistoric regions in England, and has been visited by a succession of prehistoric peoples from Palaeolithic times onwards. Along the southern slope of the Farnham valley are three gravel terraces, which are famous prehistorically and have yielded large quantities of flint implements and bones of prehistoric animals, notably the mammoth. In prehistoric times, the chalk deposits played an important role in attracting settlers, as they contained rich layers of flint nodules used to make implements. The Farnham Gravels have been an abundant source of Palaeolithic finds, most prominent being hand axes. The axes differ in type, and each type is associated with a cultural phase of the Palaeolithic period. Types similar to these are found in similar deposits in the Somme valley and in many English valley gravels. Flint mining was also carried out by the Neolithic folk. Polished axes and leaf forms, arrowheads and knives, or possibly lance heads, are characteristic of the Neolithic flint work.

Rectangular in plan with expanding cutting edge and rounded butt, leaf-shaped in profile. 31.9 grams, 38 mm



Ex Vincenzo Pappalardo (1895-1984), Lausanne; thence by descent.

Comprising one flat ovate type with inked legend '142'; one edge scraper with scooped end and lateral nicks. 49.9 grams total, 45-57 mm



Found during the original official excavations in the Farnham area, Surrey, UK, which were conducted by Harold Falkner (1875-1963) and William Francis Rankine (c.1877-1962), who were instrumental in the excavation works and pit dwellings at sites including Six Bells, Frensham, Tilford, Thursley and Bagshot, and Waverley, amongst others, at and near Farnham in the 1930s and 1940s. Much of the material is now in the prestigious Farnham museum. The present part of the collection having been gifted to their good friend and Haselmere Parish Priest, Charles Borelli (c.1914-2000) of Farnham, who was part of the Borelli family from Italy who emigrated from Lake Como in 1828 to set up the Borelli family watch and jewellery business; thence by family descent to his nephew.

Triangular in plan with delicate re-sharpening, rounded butt. 25.5 grams, 55.8 mm



From Yonne, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of France. From a large French collection built up in the early 1900s. Acquired on the European art market in the 2020s. From a private collection.

Made by Neanderthal man.

Formed as a slightly curved, slender triangular blade with a rounded butt. 1.65 grams, 42.8 mm



Acquired on the UK art market. From the private collection of an East Anglian, UK, collector.

Libyan desert glass formed approximately 29 million years ago when an intense, high-energy cosmic event instantly melted quartz-rich desert sand in the Sahara, which then rapidly cooled into high-purity silica glass.

A flat-section Levallois Point with bulb to the butt, fine retouch down both sides and with a well-executed notch. 40.2 grams, 81 mm



From Yonne, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of France. From a large French collection built up in the early 1900s. Acquired on the European art market in the 2020s. From a private collection.

Made by Neanderthal. Textbook example

Scraper with broad scooped edge; inked 'Stonehenge' and monogram, pencilled 'H Prigg 1838-92'. 26.3 grams, 55 mm



Found by H. Prigg (1838-1892) at Stonehenge. This scraper was gifted to Haselmere Parish Priest, Charles Borelli (c.1914-2000) of Farnham; who was part of the Borelli family from Italy who emigrated from Lake Como in 1828 to set up the Borelli family watch and jewellery business; thence by family descent to his nephew.

Narrow and triangular in section with broad butt; tip chipped. 192 grams,12.6 cm



Found Portland, Dorset, May 1957. From the collection of Haselmere Parish Priest, Charles Borelli (c.1914-2000) of Farnham; who was part of the Borelli family from Italy who emigrated from Lake Como in 1828 to set up the Borelli family watch and jewellery business; thence by family descent to his nephew.

Triangular in plan with long cutting edges; with an old label reading 'S9.27'. 2.58 grams, 24.48 mm



Found El Golea, Algeria. Ex old German collection of Dr J. Fehkhaber, formed in the 1970s.

Columnar in form with vertical facetting, broad butt. 119 grams, 92.7 mm



Found Pierrepont, France. Acquired on the UK art market in the 2020s. From the private collection of an East Anglian, UK, specialist collector.

Blades have been removed from around the whole piece.