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LOT 1960
Indus Valley Style Terracotta Idol Fragment Group
20TH CENTURY A.D. OR EARLIER
1 5/8 - 3 1/2 in. (156 grams total, 41-90 mm).
Including standing figures and body parts. [8, No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx London, UK, collection, 1990s.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Silver-Mounted Shell Travelling Mirror
Dutch Colonial, 17th century A.D.Estimate: £350 - 450 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £175
Discoid mirror set in a silver frame and a polished shell case, secured with a silver flower-and-scroll mount and a small hook. 56.2 grams, 86 mm
Private collection, Europe. Acquired on the English art market. -
Imperial Porphyry Specimens from the Grand Tour Set into a Marble Table Top
Late 19th-early 20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,640
Porphyry specimens set into a circular marble 'table top' with a black band border similar to items from the workshop of Francesco Sibilio. 14.75 kg, 39.3 cm
Acquired from Diana Steel in Suffolk around 2000. From the private collection of a Somerset gentleman. -
Victorian 'Freaks Fair' Model of a Shrunken Head
19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
An imitation shrunken head modelled from leather with applied hair, moustache, eyebrows and eyelashes; pierced through the lips and ears; set in a later glass dome with base. 810 grams total, 20.5 cm including stand
Acquired Mellors & Kirk, circa 2019. Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985.
The Victorian ‘freak show’ played a significant role in mid- and late-nineteenth century popular culture, enjoyed by everyone regardless of their class. Such shows, which often travelled the country, were presented to the public as entertaining and educational, offering the opportunity to learn about anatomy and the ‘realities’ of people from foreign lands. The real 'shrunken heads', known as tsantsas, were carefully preserved, severed human heads that were used by the Jivaroan people of the Amazon as war trophies, for ceremonial purposes, or to intimidate enemies.
