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LOT 2198
Victorian 'Freaks Fair' Model of a Shrunken Head
19TH CENTURY A.D.
8 in. (810 grams total, 20.5 cm including stand).
A tribal 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. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired Mellors & Kirk, circa 2019.
Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
The freak show was the archetypal expression of popular culture, enjoyed by everyone regardless of their class. The freak show was 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 severed human heads that were used by tribal cultures as war trophies or for ceremonial purposes. They were also used to scare off an enemy, using the heads as a threat, or also in religious rituals.
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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Roman and Sasanian Style Gemstone Group
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Comprising eleven carnelian and agate intaglios: two with a standing ibex; two with a griffin; one with a wolf; and six with a profile bust. 19 grams total, 10-25 mm
Property of a North London, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. -
Bactrian Style Lapis Lazuli Bead Necklace String
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Composed of alternating quadrilateral tabular and grooved cylindrical beads interspersed with small glass oblate beads; restrung. 32.8 grams, 46 cm
Ex London art market. Property of a North London, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. -
Greek Wooden Icon with Silver Cover Showing Saint Michael and Gabriel
Istanbul, circa 1860 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £481
Showing the standing Taxiarches (commanders of the Heavenly Army) Michael (A[rchangel] M[ichael]) and Gabriel (A[rchangel] G[abriel]); Michael dressed in pseudo-Roman scale armour worn over a garment with hanging pteryges, partially covered by his military cloak, the raised right hand holding a sword and the left hand resting on a shield; Gabriel dressed in long mantion (a cloak fastened under the neck), long court dress with embroidery, holding the messenger’s flower in one hand and the Globe of the Divine Power over the world in the other; floral frame; fabric mark in Turkish and Greek (ω) near the right shoulder of Saint Michael. 285 grams, 16.2 x 12 cm
Property of a London, UK, gentleman collector. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
The icon is from a Constantinople workshop circa 1860 A.D. During the Turkokratia (the Turkish domination) the Orthodox inhabitants of Constantinople continued to entrust their protection to the powerful military commanders of the Heavenly Host, the Archangels. Following the Slavic style, the icons were often covered by embossed silver plates (riza), generally reproducing the same figures on the painted wood.
