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Roman Marble Head of a Satyr
Located in London, GB
Head of a Satyr
Roman, circa 2nd - 3rd century AD
Carved and highly polished marble
An extremely fine marble head of a satyr, depicted with ivy wreath, curly hair and pointed goat’s ear, the full lips slightly parted to reveal the creature’s clenched teeth.
The head was once part of a relief with visible fragmentation on the left side. Almost completely worked in the round and carefully polished, the skill of the sculptor is particularly remarkable given the confined working space available for a relief carving, such as this.
The Roman Imperial Period marked the expansion of the political and cultural influence of the Roman Empire. The period began with the reign of Augustus in 27 BC, immediately following Caesar’s assassination which ultimately ended Rome’s time as a republic. Soon after, Augustus’ defeat of Anthony and...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Busts
Materials
Marble
Ancient Egyptian Monumental Temple Sphinxes
Located in London, GB
A pair of monumental limestone sphinxes of Pharaoh Nectanebo I, from the processional avenue of the Serapeum of Memphis, 30th Dynasty, circa 379 - 360 BC.
The sphinxes of the Serapeum have captivated travellers since Roman times. However, despite their significance, they are conspicuously absent from the collections of most major museums. Indeed, their existence in private hands is so improbable, and their imitations so numerous, that the present sphinxes were assumed to be modern copies throughout their recent ownership history. Finally recognised and conserved after an extraordinary chance discovery at a garden furniture sale...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Limestone
Fossilized Wood Cross-Section
Located in London, GB
Fossilised Colla Wood Cross-Section
Miocene, circa 23-5 Million years before present
Recovered near the town of Zile, Turkey
Fossilised wood fragment displ...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Natural Specimens
Materials
Other
Tyrannosaurus Rex Tooth in Fossil Matrix
Located in London, GB
Tyrannosaurus Rex Tooth in Fossil Matrix.
Late Cretaceous, circa 65 Million years before present.
Lance Formation, Marchant Ranch Quarry, Niobrara County, Wy...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Natural Specimens
Materials
Other
Exceptional Egyptian Sarcophagus Mask
Located in London, GB
Exceptionally Fine Wooden Sarcophagus Mask
Third Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty, circa 1069-945 BC.
Acacia wood, rosewood, hippopotamus ivory
Masterfully carved from a single piece of fine-grained hardwood, the present mask is characteristic of the most exquisite funerary art made during the 21st Dynasty, and was probably commissioned for a particularly high-ranking individual.
The oval face displays a gently smiling mouth with full, outlined lips, furrows at the corners and a bow-shaped philtrum. The straight nose with rounded nostrils, the cheeks full and fleshy and the large, almond shaped eyes with heavy lids and tapering cosmetic lines, set below long, sweeping eyebrows.
Social collapse across the Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age meant that the 21st Dynasty in Egypt was a period of great turmoil. Trade routes were disrupted, governments collapsed, and mass migration occurred. Economic scarcity meant that traditional funerary practices in Egypt were also affected, with a lack of material and financial resources leading to the reuse of preexisting material. As a result, during the 21st Dynasty, 19th and 20th Dynasty coffins changed ownership rapidly and were heavily recycled for new purposes. Tombs were also unmarked allowing them to be shared
by many people. These new practices brought forth a shift in the understanding of funerary paraphernalia. No longer important objects owned forever by the deceased, they were now simply seen as short-term transformative devices, whose symbolic and ritualistic meaning could be appropriated for others. However, paradoxically, the art of coffin-making also reached new heights during this period, and many of the richly dec- orated “yellow” coffins, characteristic of the 21st Dynasty, are remarkable works of art in their own right. Indeed, knowing that coffins were being reused throughout Egypt, the Egyptian élite set themself apart by commissioning lavish sarcophagi decorated with the images and texts meant to help guide them to the afterlife, and which would otherwise have adorned the tomb walls. As coffins were the chief funerary element which now identified the dead and allowed them a physical presence in the world of the living, their quality and appearance were of the utmost importance.
The traditional coffin ensemble was made of three parts: a wooden mummy cover, which laid directly atop the mummy, an inner coffin, and an outer coffin, both made of a lid and case. Additional decorative elements, such as masks, were carved out separately and later glued or pegged to the lids. After the completion of the painted decoration, the sarcophagus was covered in a varnish to give it its yellow colour. Gilding was sometimes used for the coffins of the high priests’ families, notably on parts representing naked skin, such as the face mask. However, some of the élite tactically avoided gilding altogether as to ensure that their coffin would not be looted.
When manufacturing the inner and outer coffins, particular attention was paid to the woodwork. Displaying the skill of the carpenter, this type of funerary art has largely remained unparalleled throughout Egyptian history. The principal wood used to craft the present mask is Acacia nilotica. The evergreen Egyptian acacia was considered sacred and said to be the tree of life, the birthplace of the god Horus, as well as symbolic of Osiris, the god of the dead and resurrection. The modelling of the face in the wood is superb, but the inlays also help mark this mask out as exceptional. Inlaid eyes and eyebrows were extremely rare and reserved to the finest and most expensive coffins. Traditionally, eyes were made of calcite, obsidian, or quartz, and eyebrows of coloured glass paste or bronze. Here, the pupils, eyebrows, and cosmetic lines are inlaid with Dalbergia melanoxylon, a rare type of wood which belongs to the rosewood genus.
In antiquity, however, it was known as Ebony of the Pharaohs, from the Egyptian word “hbny”, meaning dark timber, because of its black, lustrous appearance. An extremely dense and hard wood requiring significant skill to work with, ebony was a luxury material highly coveted by the pharaohs themselves, to make furniture, decorative and funerary objects. The wood was imported with great effort from the southern Land of Punt, most likely modern Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Eritrea, alongside other luxury goods such as gold and ivory.
A magnificent ebony throne, recovered in the tomb of King Tutankhamun, illustrates the incredible aesthetic potential of this material and why it was so highly valued by Egyptian royalty. Only élite members of Egyptian society could have afford- ed Ebony of the Pharaoh inlays for their funerary mask.
The sclerae on the present piece were once both inlaid with hippopotamus ivory. Whiter than elephant ivory, this type of ivory is also denser, and more difficult to carve. The use of this luxury material, reputed for its gleaming appearance, enhances the lifelikeness of the eyes. For the Egyptians, hippopotamus ivory was imbued with magic powers. The hippopotamus was indeed both feared and venerated due to its aggressive behaviour. Whilst the male hippopotamus was associated with danger and chaos, the female was benevolent and invoked for protection, especially of the house and
of mothers and their children, through the hippopotamus goddess Tawaret. Thus, not only was hippopotamus ivory used as an inlay and to make practical objects, such as combs and clappers, but it was also used to make talismans like apotropaic wands or knives.
Made during a time of scarcity where few could afford made-to-order coffins, the present mask could have only belonged to one of the highest-ranking individuals in society. Undoubtedly one of the finest Egyptian coffin...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Fruitwood, Hardwood
Ancient Greek Corinthian Helmet
Located in London, GB
Corinthian helmet with Bull Horns and Lotus Flower Decoration.
Archaic Period, c.550-500 BC.
Cast, hammered and incised bronze.
An exceptionally well preserved example of one of the most iconic ancient Greek...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier European Classical Greek Mounted Objects
Materials
Bronze
Bronze Age Cypriot Plank Idol
Located in London, GB
Cypriot Plank Idol
Early Bronze Age III - Middle Bronze Age I, c. 2100 - 1850 BC.
Low fired burnished earthenware pottery with lime-filled incisions
A Cypriot plank idol, an iconic form of human representation from Bronze Age Cyprus...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Cypriot Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Terracotta
Extraterrestrial Iron Meteorite Sphere
Located in London, GB
Aletai Meteorite Sphere Iron - IIIE
circa 4.5 Billion years old
A perfect metallic sphere, extracted from the core of the famous Aletai Meteorite, di...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chinese Natural Specimens
Materials
Other
Late Bronze Age Sword
Located in London, GB
Saint Nazaire Sword, Late Bronze Age, circa 800-900 B.C.
An exceptionally well preserved Bronze Age sword, with elegant, finely incised decorations,...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier French Abstract Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Sculptural Oriented Meteorite
Located in London, GB
Oriented Chondrite Meteorite Circa 4.56 Billion y/o
Chondrite
24 x 20 cm, 28 cm tall on base
7.1 kg
A sculptural and beautifully weathered chondrite meteorite; upon entering the atmosphere, this extraterrestrial stone would have heated the surrounding air to a temperature of over 1700 C, higher than that of the hottest lava on the planet, and enough to melt away its outer layers, leaving its surface rippled with regmaglypts, thumb-shaped impressions formed as superheated rock streaked off of the main body as it careened toward the earth. The last layer of the rock to melt would have re-solidified as the meteorite made impact, forming a charcoal coloured fusion crust, which has taken on a deep ochre-tinted patina.
Chondrite meteorites such as this example were formed at the very beginning of our solar system, by the accretion of various types of dust and small grains, adrift in the vacuum of space and, as such, provide important clues about the birth of our own planet. This piece is an especially rare specimen, known as an oriented meteorite...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
Ancient South Arabian Alabaster Statue
Located in London, GB
South Arabian Calcite female figure
3rd Century BC to 1st century A.D.
Calcite Alabaster
height: 30.5 cm
A magnificent alabaster female figure, a f...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Yemeni Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Alabaster
Natural Gogotte Formation
Located in London, GB
A magnificent example of a gogotte formation composed of thick swirls and folds of sparkling sandstone. Discovered in the Oligocene sand dunes of Fontainebleau, France, formed circa 30 million years before present or later.
The incredible, almost otherworldly appearance of gogottes may easily be mistaken for the work of a most talented artist. In fact, these sandstone sculptures are entirely natural in origin. They have been found in multiple locations but those from Fontainebleau, such as the present example, are the most remarkable. Thirty-five million years ago, a sea covered what is now the forest of Fontainebleau, and dunes of exceptionally fine and homogenous sand formed. As silica-rich water filtered through this sand, it turned into stone. The flow of water finely modelled the sandstone into the aesthetic concretions we now know as gogottes. These are rare and are only found sporadically several metres deep into the ground. They owe their sparkling white appearance to the extreme and unmatched purity of the Fontainebleau sand, sometimes reaching a composition of 99.9% silica. Each of them is unique – a masterpiece slowly fashioned by the hands of Nature.
The intriguing name of “gogotte” was coined by French geologist Claude Guillemin (1923- 1994), who was inspired by the children’s book series Babar the Elephant. In one of the books, a group of monsters called Gogottes are shown hiding behind rocks. These rocks reminded Guillemin of the sandstone concretions...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Natural Specimens
Materials
Other
Lightning Bolt Shaped Meteorite Endcut
Located in London, GB
“This jagged exterior endcut of the Seymchan pallasite has patches of olivine-free metallic iron-nickel as well as regions where olivine and metal are more uniformly distributed. The...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Natural Specimens
Materials
Other
Ancient Greek Perfume Bottle
Located in London, GB
Athenian Black-glaze perfume pot with inscription
Athens, c. 425-400 B.C.
Terracotta
Measures: Height: 9cm; diameter across lip: 7.5cm; width including handle: 9cm
This 5th Cen...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Greek Bottles
Materials
Pottery
Gogotte Formation
Located in London, GB
Gogotte formation
circa 30 Million y/o
Measures : 42 x 21 x 63 cm.
A magnificent example of a gogotte formation, composed of thick swirls and fo...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier French Natural Specimens
Materials
Sandstone
Oriented Stone Meteorite
Located in London, GB
Oriented Stone Meteorite
Chondrite
5.00 kg
Detached from its parent body by a mighty impact, this large, oriented Meteorite travelled over a hu...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier North African Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
Ancient Roman Turquoise Glass Cup
Located in London, GB
Turquoise glass cup
Roman Empire, circa 3rd-4th century A.D.
With old label reading ‘’965’’.
“Pliny relates that the art of glass-making [.] was actua...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Roman Glass
Materials
Glass
Iridescent Ammonite Fossil
Located in London, GB
Large spectacular iridescent ammonite fossil.
75 Million y/o
A magnificent example of one of the most spectacular fossils. A large and int...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Canadian Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
Cross-Section from an Exceptional Lunar Meteorite
Located in London, GB
A piece of the moon - superb lunar meteorite gadamis 004 - Anorthosite
4.5 Billion y/o
Among the rarest substances to be found on Earth, thi...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Libyan Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
Ancient Greek Black Glaze Ribbed Mug
Located in London, GB
Greek black-glaze ribbed mug
Athens, circa 475-425 B.C.
terracotta.
The mug is of a straight-sided, cylindrical form with seven horizontal ribs and an applied ring handle just below the lip. The base is flat with a slightly raised foot running around the circumference. The very centre of the underside is reserved and with traces of ochre pigment. Intact, some slight chipping to the glaze touched in, areas of incrustation to the base and interior.
This strikingly modern piece is a fine example of Attic black...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Greek Classical Greek Ceramics
Materials
Terracotta
Ancient Silver Celtic Tetradrachm Coin
Located in London, GB
Celtic ‘Dachreiter’ Tetradrachm
Minted in Eastern Europe, circa 1st-2nd Century B.C.
Silver
A magnificent Celtic tetradrachm of the Dachreiter (“roof-rider”) type, minted by a C...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Mounted Objects
Materials
Silver
Banded Iron Formation with Red Jasper, Haematite & Tiger's Eye
Located in London, GB
Banded Iron Fossil Formation
Circa 2.9 Billion y/o
This spectacular banded iron formation from Port Hedland, Western Australia, provides evid...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Australian Natural Specimens
Materials
Multi-gemstone
Lunar Meteorite
Located in London, GB
A beautiful fragment from a lunar meteorite, among the rarest of all geological finds. This specimen belongs to NWA 11303, a feldspathic regolith breccia which formed when the shock ...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Algerian Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
Roman Marble Statuette of Jupiter
Located in London, GB
Roman Marble Fragment of jupiter
Circa 2nd-3rd Century A.D.
Measure: Height: 19.7 cm
This beautiful Roman fragmentary statuette depicts Jupiter, the king of the gods, here recognisable from his two chief attributes, the eagle with outstretched wings - according the Pseudo-Hyginus, singled out by Jupiter because ''it alone, men say, strives to fly straight into the rays of the rising sun'' - and the base of the scepter, which remains at the side of the left foot, an aspect likely borrowed from the statue of Zeus at Olympia, once one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Though much of the original piece has been lost, the subtle anatomical detail in the feet mark this out as a piece of exceptional quality, and the work of an artist of particular talent and patience - as Johann Winckelmann once said of the famous Belvedere Torso, ''if you contemplate this with a quiet eye [...] the god will at once become visible in this stone.''
This fragment once caught the eye of Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle (1694-1758), a Knight of the Garter and among the most prolific collectors of his day. The piece, acquired during his travels to Rome, was proudly displayed on an alcove of the Western Staircase of Castle Howard...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Roman Figurative Scul...
Materials
Marble
Sculptural Iron Meteorite from Morasko, Poland
Located in London, GB
Iron Meteorite from Morasko, Poland
Circa 4.55 Billion y/o
Iron, IAB-MG
A sculptural iron meteorite dating to the formation of the solar system, s...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Polish Natural Specimens
Materials
Iron
Cross Section of the Seymchan Meteorite
Located in London, GB
Cross Section from the Seymchan Meteorite
Pallasite
Comprising less than 0.2% of all meteorites, pallasites, made up of an iron-nickel matrix inter...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Russian Natural Specimens
Materials
Iron, Nickel
Ancient Greek Attic Pyxis Cosmetics Box
Located in London, GB
A rare Colonial Greek or Etruscan Attic black-figure Pyxis
Circa 6th century B.C.
Terracotta
Finely moulded, the cover with rounded knob and reserved dec...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Greek Vases
Materials
Terracotta
Roman Marble Foot
Located in London, GB
Roman marble Fragment of a Right Foot with Sandal
Circa 1st - 2nd Century A.D.
An evocative Roman marble fragment, preserving the front portion of an over-lifesized sandalled foot. The toes, nails, and bridge of the foot have been sensitively carved. The outer sole of the sandal remains, with delicate, pointed straps joining between the first two toes in a diamond shape.
This fragment once belonged to Danish sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Roman Figurative Scul...
Materials
Marble
Roman Marble Head of Sophocles
Located in London, GB
Roman Marble Head of Sophocles
Circa 1st-2nd Century
Marble
This fine Roman marble head preserves the proper left side of the face of a middle-aged man, with broad nose, soft lips, and bearded chin. The short beard and sideburns have been finely carved with a flat chisel, to render the soft, wavy strands of hair. The cheekbone, undereye, and nasolabial folds have been delicately modelled in the marble by a skilled hand. In a letter from 1975, the former director of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, suggested that the head could depict the Ancient Greek tragedian Sophocles.
Few figures in the Classical world stand aside Sophocles (c. 496-406 BC), inarguably the best known of the Athenian tragedians, in terms of the impact his works have had on the history of art and literature. The psychological depth he achieves in the seven of the 123 of his plays that have survived to the present day - most notably the three Theban plays: Antigone, Oedipus the King, and Oedipus at Colonus - not only inspired the Athenians, among whom Sophocles was honoured as a hero long after his death, but in our own time, have provoked landmark works on phychoanalysis and literary criticism, by thinkers like René Girard and, most famously, Sigmund Freud. In its masterful treatment of the marble this fragment sensitively captures the features of one of the most important playwrights of all time.
Height on stand: 7.9 inches (20 cm).
Provenance:
Collection of Danish sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Classical Roman Busts
Materials
Marble
Monolithic Stone Meteorite
Located in London, GB
Unclassified Meteorite
Stone
Height: 36.83 cm
42.5 kg
A dramatic extraterrestrial sculpture, of monolithic form, covered in a thick grey-brown fusion crust and with areas of sandy deposits from untold years spent on the desert floor. Formed in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter during the formation of our solar system, some 4.55 billion years ago, this large stone would have been separated from its parent body by an enormous impact before journeying through interplanetary space and eventually reaching Earth.
Upon atmospheric entry it would have reached cosmic velocity, heating the surrounding air to 1700°C and producing a large ball of fire. The heat was sufficient to melt the outer surface of the stone, exposing a new surface which in turn also melted away, losing as much as 95% of its initial mass before reaching the ground. The last molten layer to form as it collided with the Earth covered the stone in a layer of fusion crust, evidence of the incredible impact force delivered by this extraordinary specimen.
“This unclassified stone meteorite was found in Northwest Africa. It has a relatively smooth, dark brown, slightly weathered fusion crust; some small melt veins are visible on the surface. Due to the near-absence of terrestrial rocks in this region of the Sahara, meteorite hunting in this area has yielded many notable discoveries.”
Dr Alan E. Rubin, PhD Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier North African Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
Hellenistic Grotesque Theatre Mask of Maccus
Located in London, GB
Grotesque theatrical mask of Maccus
Late Hellenistic or Early Imperial period, circa 1st century B.C. – 1st century A.D., likely from Southern Italy.
Terracotta with remains of pin...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Roman Figurative Scul...
Materials
Terracotta
Fossilised Dinosaur Skin
Located in London, GB
Fossilised Skin of a Brachylophosaurus
Approx. 80 Million y/o
An exceptional specimen of fossilised dinosaur skin, preserving the hexagonal scales of...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier American Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
A Piece of Mars - Martian Meteorite
Located in London, GB
MARTIAN STONE - NWA 14713
Lherzolitic shergottite
127 g
“This 127-gram fragment of the NWA 14713 meteorite displays a green-black mottled exterior. The rock is a martian shergottite (a basalt) composed mainly of coarse grains of pyroxene as well as calcium-plagioclase glass. This glass, called maskelynite, formed from crystalline plagioclase when the specimen was blasted off the surface of Mars by an energetic collision. There are currently less than 350 known martian meteorites...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier North African Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
Cross Section of Exceptional Lunar Meteorite
Located in London, GB
“This 149-gram slice of the Gadamis 004 lunar meteorite contains a wide variety of sizes of light-colored angular anorthositic clasts. These silicate c...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Libyan Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
Vitrified Lightning Bolt
Located in London, GB
An Extraordinarily well preserved specimen of Fulgurite
Tubular Lechatetierite
Formation date unknown, recovered from the Sahara Desert, Algeria, ...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Algerian Natural Specimens
Materials
Glass
Large Chondrite Meteorite with Regmaglypts
Located in London, GB
NWA 12759
Stone, Chondrite - L5
18.3 KG
“This specimen of the NWA 12759 L5 chondrite has a smooth posterior fusion crust where meteoritic melt pooled as the rock descended through the atmosphere and was heated by friction with molecules of air. The meteorite is from the L-chondrite asteroid that was destroyed by an energetic collision 470 million years ago.”
Dr Alan E. Rubin, PhD Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA
Detached from its parent body by a mighty impact, this large, oriented meteorite travelled over a hundred million miles through space before falling to Earth in the North African desert. Beautiful regmaglypts radiate from the apex of its cone shaped nose. These elongated dimples formed when streaks of superheated molten rock streamed off the meteor’s surface as it blazed through the atmosphere. The entire piece is coated in a glossy, umber-coloured fusion crust and close examination reveals remnants of encrusted, orange dirt.
Whilst most meteors tumble as they travel through the Earth’s atmosphere, oriented meteorites...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Moroccan Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
Ancient Greek Hellenistic Bronze Statuette of Satyr
Located in London, GB
Beautifully cast statuette of a satyr, Greek, Hellenistic Period, 3rd-2nd Century BC, solid cast bronze
The present work is a wonderful example of the finest Hellenistic style. The ...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Greek Classical Greek Figurative Sculpt...
Materials
Bronze
Ancient Minoan Lotus Flower Vase
Located in London, GB
Minoan Lotus vase
Circa 1700-1450 B.C.
Serpentine stone
8.9 cm x 14 cm
‘’The fruitful isle of Crete, well known to fame,
Sacred of old to Jove's imperial name,
In the mid-oce...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Greek Other Decorative Bowls
Materials
Serpentine
Giant Egg of the Extinct 'Elephant Bird'
Located in London, GB
An exceptionally well preserved, unhatched egg of the Giant elephant bird, Aepyornis maximus.
The now-extinct Aepyornis maximus, or elephant bird, wa...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Malagasy Natural Specimens
Materials
Eggshell
Large Sikhote-Alin Meteorite Shrapnel
Located in London, GB
Sikhote-Alin Meteorite Shrapnel, Iron, Coarsest Octahedrite
“This chunk of twisted metal shows the extreme force of the low altitude air burst which exploded the main mass, causing shockwaves which collapsed chimneys, shattered windows and uprooted trees. Sonic booms were heard more than 300 kilometres away and a 33-kilometre long smoke trail persisted in the sky for several hours.” - Dr Alan E. Rubin, PhD Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA
Dating back to the formation of the solar system, some 4.55 billion years ago, Sikhote-Alin meteorites are the best preserved of all known iron meteorites. This extremely aesthetic specimen is a beautiful example of the so-called shrapnel type. It is the result of a powerful secondary explosion which occurred close to the ground, producing a wonderfully scarred and sculptural appearance, with torn and jagged edges and delicate flow lines. On the morning of 12 February 1947, an enormous iron meteor passed through the Earth’s atmosphere, exploding over the Sikhote-Alin mountains in South-eastern Russia...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Russian Natural Specimens
Materials
Iron
Natural Gogotte Formation
Located in London, GB
A magnificent example of a gogotte formation composed of thick swirls and folds of sparkling sandstone. Discovered in the Oligocene sand dunes of Fon...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Natural Specimens
Materials
Sandstone
Etruscan Bronze Statuette of Discus Thrower
Located in London, GB
A remarkably fine example of Archaic sculpture. A figure of a discophoros, or discus bearer, standing with his right leg forward, gripping a discus in his right hand, the left arm raised with an open palm. Described with admiration in Münzen und Medaillen's 1961 auction, "The figure is a masterpiece and illustrates with rare vividness the essence of good Etruscan sculpture...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Figurative Sculptures
Materials
Bronze
Cross Section of the Imilac Meteorite
Located in London, GB
“This 282 g interior section of the Imilac pallasite shows a large range of olivine grain sizes – there are coarse grains, grain clusters and fine-grained, crushed olivine debris. All of the olivine grains are surrounded by a matrix of metallic iron-nickel derived from the top of a molten core of a differentiated asteroid.”
Dr Alan E. Rubin, PhD Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, UCLA
Imilac - interior section
Stony-iron, pallasite - PMG
8 1/4 inches (20.95 CM), 282 g
This complete cross-sectional slice from the Imilac meteorite...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Natural Specimens
Materials
Other
Complete Slice of Imilac Meteorite
Located in London, GB
This complete cross-sectional slice from the Imilac meteorite has been prepared to reveal shimmering olivine and peridot gems embedded in an iron-nick...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Natural Specimens
Materials
Other
Seymchan Meteorite Sphere
Located in London, GB
Seymchan Sphere
Pallasite
291 g
Comprising less than 0.2% of all meteorites, pallasites, made up of an iron-nickel matrix interwoven with amber-coloured olivine gemstones, are the most dazzling meteorites of all. This piece, extracted from the Seymchan meteorite...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Russian Natural Specimens
Materials
Iron
Large Sculptural Meteorite
Located in London, GB
A magnificent and extremely sculptural specimen of the Seymchan meteorite, recovered in the Russian Far East. This rare and large end cut preserves the patinated and partially melted...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Russian Natural Specimens
Materials
Other
Petrified Wood Slice from Arizona
Located in London, GB
A large section of a petrified conifer tree trunk, (Araucarioxylon arizonicum) from Northern Arizona, dating to the Triassic period, circa 225 million years ago.
Over hundreds of m...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier American Wall-mounted Sculptures
Materials
Quartz
Petrified Incense Cedar Wood Fossil
Located in London, GB
This spectacular cross section of petrified cedar wood comes from Saddle Mountain, Washington. It is remarkably large with a wonderful and highly aesthetic shape, exhibiting vibrant ...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Natural Specimens
Materials
Petrified Wood
Large Leaf Fossil from the Green River Formation
Located in London, GB
A large and beautifully preserved fossilised leaf from the Green River formation, a site which has brought forth some of the best-preserved fossi...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier North American Wall-mounted Sculptures
Materials
Other
Ancient Hellenistic Glass Finger Ring
Located in London, GB
This beautifully preserved ring was cast from light green transparent glass. Its large size and shape are typical of Hellenistic finger rings, and its now ...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Classical Greek Glass
Materials
Glass
Meteorite Impact Desert Glass
Located in London, GB
Libyan Desert Glass
Circa 29 Million y/o
Height: 9.5 cm
A beautiful, tactile piece of yellow glass, found between the high crested dunes of the Libyan De...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Libyan Natural Specimens
Materials
Glass
Fossilised Colla Wood Cross-Section
Located in London, GB
Fossilised colla wood cross-section
Miocene, circa 5-23 Million y/o
This fossilised white pine wood section displays a beautiful surface, with vibrant h...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Turkish Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone
Ancient Greek Black Glaze Kantharos Wine Cup
Located in London, GB
Greek Black Glaze Kantharos
Circa Early 4th Century B.C.
Terracotta
With old label reading ‘No. 133’
Height: 8.8 cm
This 4th Century B.C. kan...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Classical Greek Vases
Materials
Ceramic
Pre-Solar Stardust, a Piece of the Allende Meteorite
Located in London, GB
Pre-Solar Stardust - A piece of the Allende Meteorite
Carbonaceous Chondrite - CV3
Height 6.98 cm
280 g
“This individual sample of the Allende CV3 carbonaceous chondrite shows ...
Category
Antique 15th Century and Earlier Mexican Natural Specimens
Materials
Stone