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

Restrung, using recently polished Mammuthus primigenius spherical bone beads. 155 grams, 58 cm



Ex Ancient Art Shop, Windsor, UK, 1990s. Ex private West County, UK, collection.

The mammoth lineage branched from the Asian elephant around 6 million years ago, and later on, the Woolly Mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius, evolved in eastern Siberia. Woolly mammoths, being slightly smaller than living African elephants, were foragers and ate grass, as well as small, nutritious flowering plants that flourished in the environment where they lived. They may also have used their curved tusks to dig through snow and eat plants that other foragers were unable to reach.

Oval section of light brown agate geode showing some quartz crystal formations. 824 grams, 18.7 cm



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

Comprising: hematite, kyanite, agate, fossilised wood, a geode section, calcite, fossilised vertebra, and others. 3.1 kg total including tray, 4.4-15 cm



From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

Botryoidal specimen showing characteristic banding. 1.75 kg, 13.1 cm



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

Large group of cut geodes with internal cavities, most with crystal-lined interiors. 2.02 kg total, 16-40 mm



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

A coarse octahedrite class IIB iron meteorite; cleaned. 17.86 grams, 26 mm



From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection.

Sikhote-Alin is an iron meteorite that fell on February, 13, 1947 on the Sikhote-Alin Mountains in eastern Siberia. Though large iron meteorite falls had been witnessed previously and fragments recovered, never before in recorded history had a fall of this magnitude been observed. An estimated 70 tonnes of material survived the fiery passage through the atmosphere and reached the Earth. The strewn field for this meteorite covered an elliptical area of about 1.3 km2 (0.50 sq mi). Some of the fragments made impact craters, the largest of which was about 26 m (85 ft) across and 6 m (20 ft) deep. Fragments of the meteorite were also driven into the surrounding trees. The Soviet Union issued a stamp for the 10th anniversary of the Sikhote-Alin meteorite shower and this reproduces a painting by P. J. Medvedev, a Soviet artist who witnessed the fall: he was sitting in his window starting a sketch when the fireball appeared, so he immediately began drawing what he saw.

Showing raised eyes and glabella. 184 grams, 85 mm



From the private collection of Kenneth Machin (1936-2020), Buckinghamshire, UK; his collection of antiquities and natural history was formed since 1948; thence by descent.

Comprising forty-two calcite rhombs displaying characteristic double refraction. 1.54 kg total, 24-42 mm



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

Irregular geode matrix with light purple amethyst crystals; the metal branches tipped with polished light-coloured amethyst pebbles. 490 grams, 18.5 cm



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

On a curving matrix and showing good detail, especially on the scales. 557 grams, 21.2 cm



From Cheddar, Somerset, UK. From the private collection of Kenneth Machin (1936-2020), Buckinghamshire, UK; his collection of antiquities and natural history was formed since 1948; thence by descent.

Two horned ammonites with regularly disposed spines to the outer shell. 1.43 kg, 16.5 cm wide



From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

Comprising three rectangular sections of grey pink and black medium to coarse-grained biotite-quartz-plagioclase gneiss with polished upper face, each with wooden backing and one cracked. approx. 84 kg total, 85 x 58 cm each



Canadian Shield, Minnesota River Valley, Southwestern Minnesota, USA. with Phillips, New York, 3 June 1995, no.81. Private collection, Florida, acquired at the above sale. with Sotheby’s, New York, 28 April 2021, no.27 (est. $2,500–3,500).

The world’s oldest known rocks come from the Canadian Shield area of North America. Among the most ancient is the present material, Morton Gneiss at approximately 3.5 billion years old believed to be part of Earth’s first planetary crust. The swirls and layers are a result of metamorphism that incurred when the original volcanic rock was buried to tremendous depths.