Gandharan Schist Head of Buddha, AD 250

Gandharan Schist Buddha Circa 3rd Century A.D. This finely carved stone statue depicts the Buddha, clad in cascading folds of fabric, clinging lightl...

Egyptian head of a man, carved granite. 18th Dynasty, circa 1550-1292 B.C. Carved in beautiful dark granite, this head depicts an elite individual, perha...

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...

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...

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...

This complete cross-sectional slice from the Imilac meteorite has been prepared to reveal shimmering olivine and peridot gems embedded in an iron-nick...

Large pair of carved wood Buddha heads. Great patina to wood and great off-white coloring. Very good condition.

A very cool hand carved vintage Buddha head in teal bakelite on a rosewood stand, circa 1970s. The carved figure is a representation of Gautama Bud...

Vintage Taxidermy of a Deer Head A taxidermied skull of the deer (Capreolus capreolus) mounted on an ebonized wooden turned base. Germany, ca. 1950s. ...

A Thai bronze head of the Buddha. Sukothai period, late 16th-early 17th century. His face with serene expression, arched eyebrows above incised eyes a...

Burmese Buddha. Painted wood. 19th Century. Large lack of wood on the base, front and back.

Early 20th century set of two hand carved tamarind wood laughing Buddha candleholders. Measures: Height 15" (38 cm).