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

Comprising cut and polished pieces, probably recycled material mined in ancient Roman times between the 1st and 5th centuries A.D. 270 grams total, 3.3-15.5 cm



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

Mons Porphyrites (today Jabal Abu Dukhkhan) is the mountainous site of a group of ancient quarries in the Red Sea Hills of the inhospitable eastern desert in Egypt, a five-day trip from the Nile during Roman times. They were discovered by Caius Cominus Leugas in 18 A.D., and during the Roman Empire, the mines officially belonged to the emperor and were the only known source of the Imperial Porphyry, Mons Porphyrites. This dark purple stone was associated with royalty and used for prestigious sculpture and architecture. The location of the mines was lost sometime in the 5th century and rediscovered in the early 19th century. Excavations in the area have revealed the well-preserved quarries and the dwelling places of the quarrymen, and also thousands of ostraca have been discovered containing messages that provide details of how the quarrying took place, and of how the highly skilled quarrymen ordered their food.

Comprising three joined leaves from an extinct genus Sapindopsis, related to the modern Platanaceae family. 1.08 kg, 20.5 cm



From Lebanon. From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

The seed cut in half through the middle, exposing the internal structure. 370 grams total, 94 mm each



From London Clay, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, 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.

Large nodule with a single Eleganticeras ammonite specimen. 1.59 kg, 11.5 cm



From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection.

Comprising ten polished transparent to translucent slices, one showing interesting 'eye' formations, some with enhanced colouring. 593 grams total, 7.9-11.5 cm



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

A Mosasaur prognathodon tooth with some root, showing good enamel; repaired. 120 grams, 13.2 cm



From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

Comprising one hundred rich purple specimens, including some pyramidal terminations. 1.05 kg total, 22-38 mm



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

Comprising two polished fossiliferous eggs, each showing a partial Orthoceras specimen. 300 grams total, 49-67 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.

A nickel-iron meteorite (IAB). 89.2 grams, 61 mm



From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection.

A crater field of roughly 26 craters was found in the vicinity of this crater, which is estimated to date to 4-5 thousand years BP. The age of the meteorite itself is thought to be c.4.5 billion years, formed as part of the development of this solar system. The largest two fragments, the 30.8-ton Gancedo and 28.8-ton El Chaco, are among the heaviest meteorite masses ever recovered on Earth. In 1576, the governor of a province in Northern Argentina commissioned the military to search for a large mass of iron, which it was believed the local people claimed had fallen from the sky and which they used for their weapon production. The expedition discovered a large mass of metal, which was assumed to be an iron mine, and brought back a few samples, which were described as being of unusual purity. Following the legends, in 1774, Don Bartolomé Francisco de Maguna rediscovered the iron mass. He himself did not believe that the stone had fallen from the sky and assumed that it had formed by a volcanic eruption. However, he sent the samples to the Royal Society of London. In 1990, it became protected by law.

A nickel-iron meteorite (IAB). 91 grams, 40 mm



From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection.

A crater field of roughly 26 craters was found in the vicinity of this crater, which is estimated to date to 4-5 thousand years BP. The age of the meteorite itself is thought to be c.4.5 billion years, formed as part of the development of this solar system. The largest two fragments, the 30.8-ton Gancedo and 28.8-ton El Chaco, are among the heaviest meteorite masses ever recovered on Earth. In 1576, the governor of a province in Northern Argentina commissioned the military to search for a large mass of iron, which it was believed the local people claimed had fallen from the sky and which they used for their weapon production. The expedition discovered a large mass of metal, which was assumed to be an iron mine, and brought back a few samples, which were described as being of unusual purity. Following the legends, in 1774, Don Bartolomé Francisco de Maguna rediscovered the iron mass. He himself did not believe that the stone had fallen from the sky and assumed that it had formed by a volcanic eruption. However, he sent the samples to the Royal Society of London. In 1990, it became protected by law.

Comprising twenty botryoidal malachite specimens showing 'eye' motifs. 243 grams total, 18-38 mm



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

Cut and polished sections, mined in Greece, cut and polished on both sides, probably recycled material mined in ancient Roman times. 225 grams total, 4.4-15.1 cm



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

Also known as Lapis Lacedaemonius and Porfido Verde Antico, a type of green porphyry quarried in Greece. Spartan basalt is a form of andesite or volcanic rock known today only from a single source in the village of Krokees on the Peloponnese in Greece. In addition, ancient sources mention a quarry of Lapis Lacedaemonius in Taygetus.