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

Squat in profile with everted rim to the mouth, two lateral pierced lugs; old collector's handwritten card 'Ancient Egyptian remarkably fine & early two-handled bowl of exceedingly rare style, having a ring decoration in red. B.C. 1800. A valuable and perfect specimen from the Myers Collection'. 271 grams, 10.3 cm wide



From the private collection of Major William Joseph Myers (1858-1899). From the estate of a deceased Sussex private collector since the early 20th century. Accompanied by a copy of an illustrated academic report by Simone Musso. Accompanied by an old original handwritten information card.

The painted decoration imitates the veining of a hardstone such as basalt or breccia.

Plano-convex in section, with hatched segmentation on the upper face; underside with bird in flight, with radiating strokes to the border; edge chipped; supplied with an impression. 4.11 grams, 17 mm



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

Mixed group of scarabs and scaraboids, including: stylised foliate motif with a sa sign; central entwined cords with curled tops and tails, and nefer signs; a falcon with outspread wings and sun disc above, surmounting a fallen enemy; a group of hieroglyphs: a central mes flanked by reed leaves, with a water sign n above, and a neb sign below; a falcon with outspread wings, with two maat feathers and stylised cobras above; a central hes vase flanked by rearing cobras. 32.6 grams total, 15-28 mm



From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

Including bowl fragment with painted flower detailing, and other types. 65 grams total, 36-70 mm



From a private collection formed 1970s-1990s.

Fragment of a large segmentum in linen and wool, embroidered with rows of eagles and other birds, the borders with geometric decorations. 8 grams, 19 cm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.

The segment is realised in the tapestry technique. They were part of the decoration of a tunic, and the presence of the Imperial eagle, not a common pattern, could refer to a military tunic.

Comprising mostly glazed tubular, globular, barrel and other beads, in a vintage red cigarette box with an old label 'The Alma Cigarettes Company, Ltd., Boulak Square Cairo'. 87 grams total including tin, 1-18 mm



Excavated from Egypt in 1914. From the private collection of Mr David Sams and his wife Elizabeth Kate Sams, gentry and amateur archaeologists who travelled to Egypt in 1914 with their daughter Ethel. Mr Sams and his wife led digging expeditions from which these items come from the family estate of Mr and Mrs Sams, by direct descent to their granddaughter.

Comprising a long element from a tunic, possibly a sleeve from a child’s garment, in brown wool with a red edge, a pair of segmenta at both sides in purple and yellow, ornamented with crosses inside lozenges and spirals. 27 grams, 30.5 cm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.

This decorative part of a tunic is possibly a part of the sleeve of a child's garment, and the crosses reiterate the fact that these fabrics were produced in a by then heavily Christianised Roman Empire.

Squat in profile and discoid in plan, with a central perforation on the upper face and a pierced lug handle at the rear; concentric bands of pointillé ornament on the upper face and incised rings on the base; nozzle broken; supplied with an old handwritten collector's record slip made from an envelope. 97 grams, 11.3 cm



Found Alexandria, Egypt. From the estate of a deceased Sussex private collector since the early 20th century. Accompanied by an old original handwritten information slip.

Mummiform figure modelled with a heavy lappet wig, encircled at the top by a sash band; low-relief crossed arms, with painted implements, a seed bag on the back, and a column of hieroglyphs on the front dedicated to: 'The Osiris, songstress of Amun Sedjet(?), true of voice'. 52.8 grams, 90 mm



From the collection of a London gentleman, 2000s.

Comprising a large portion of tunic, with a complete section of the collar (maniakion) divided in successive decorative circular bands, ornamented with geometric patterns of floral elements, plants, interlaces; a central segmentum broadly decorated with geometric patterns, palmettes, triangles, and a round medallion with an impressive floral design; the segmentum is bordered by two purple stripes, flanked by other two bands of vegetal ornaments enclosed in medallions; the terminal part of the tunic still presents the fastening stripes of selvedges in rope forming the lowed border; S-twist yellow-orange and purple wool warp on linen; a long clavus in purple wool on linen decorated with vegetal interlaces, the borders meander decorated. 236 grams total including paper folder, 57.5 cm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.

The large fragment featuring geometric and vegetal decoration may date to the early period of the Islamic conquest, when tunic ornamentation began to take on an increasingly abstract and geometric character, often linked to the representation of plants and Nilotic flora. The rich decoration of the tunic and the use of purple suggest that it may have belonged to an aristocrat or a wealthy ecclesiastic of the Coptic-Greek population, or perhaps to a dignitary of the Umayyad Empire.

Almond-shaped with large black irises and white sclerae. 4.12 grams total, 27-29 mm



Acquired on the UK art market, 1977-1979. Private collection, London.

Egyptian coffin eye inlays were both decorative and symbolic, designed to make the coffin appear more lifelike and to assist the deceased in the afterlife. Typically, they featured a white sclera (glass, travertine, alabaster, or quartz), a dark iris (glass or, more often, obsidian), and sometimes red paint at the inner corner. The eyes were often set in bronze or copper frames, occasionally with faience or bronze eyebrows.

Rectangular-section panel with tapering profile, fluting to the upper face. 23.6 grams, 48 mm



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

This fragment most likely belongs to a striated skirt or wig.