18th Century and Earlier Sculptures

Unique and very beautiful pair weathered white marble baroque ornaments. They most likely once adorned a church altar. Original period pieces, Italy, ci...

Super Large Antique Italian Rococo Carved Wood "Supra Porte'. This monumental 18th Century ornament is 2 meters wide! Beautiful A-symmetrically carved Pinewood and Basswood with C-Sc...

A Small Bronze Group of a Prancing Stag Bronze, gilt bronze South Germany; Nuremberg or Augsburg Late 17th Century / Circa 1620 SIZE: 12cm high - 4¾ ins high This bronze group, made in southern Germany, bears great similarities with the gilded silver table...

A Fine Flemish Carved Figure of a Man Attributed to Henrick Douverman (c. 1480 - 1543) (sometimes known as Heinrich Douwermann) Wood (oak) Flemish Early 16th Century SIZE: 28cm high...

Important bas-relief in carved wood with traces of gilt, in an architectural frame with two angels in the corners, representing Saint Rocco. Considered, among other things, the Patro...

An Unusual and Rare English ‘Memento Mori’ Carved Shrine with Two Human Skulls to the underside, a carved ‘Dragonfly’ Marble 16th / 17th Century England Size: 36cm high, 28cm w...

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...

An exquisite black amethyst druze cluster with polished stalactite. Rare and notoriously difficult to find, this stunning and unique black amethyst druz...

A pair of Meissen bouquetiere figures Circa 1765, both with 'Christie's East' dealer stamps. Modelled by J.J. Kändler holding oval two-handled baskets, the tops pierced for flowers, ...

XVII Century San Rocco Polychrome wood, cm h. 127 The item is in good condition

Unique period piece. Extremely rare 16th century Italian hand carved wooden lion. Most likely once part of a piece of furniture. Beautifully ca...

Unique period piece. Extremely rare 16th century Italian hand carved lion. Most likely once part of a piece of furniture. Beautifully carved in a simple folk art way with traces of i...

Wonderful Hand carved winged angelhead with its original gilding. France, circa 1750 Weathered small losses. Treated against wood worm Measurement here below inclusive the wooden bas...

Jesus Christ Crucified Portuguese Sculpture 18th Century Crucified figure with the head turned to the right side, face with well-defined features, beard and long hair finely carved ...

Questa eccezionale coppia di sculture in stucco antico, risalente al XVIII secolo e originaria della Toscana, cattura l'essenza e la maestosità delle divinità romane Cerere e Giove. ...

We present you these two icons Virgin Mary and Saint John, pair of linden wood sculptures. Bologna 15th century. The Caloust Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal museum has an i...

France / 1550 / statue Saint Eligius / Antique / reliques Religious statue of Saint Eligius from the 16th century in full wood found in France. This very rare find has a beautiful ...

A complete prehistoric Cleoniceras opalised iridescent ammonite fossil, originating from Madagascar, presented on an exclusive museum-quality painted plaster base. Over 200 million y...

This is a sublimely made porcelain figure of the female "Ranelagh Dancer", made by Derby between 1759 and 1769, which was the Rococo era. The figure would originally have had a male ...

Important pair of 18th century lacquered wood angel heads, from Northern Italy. The angel heads with wings are carved from a single piece of wood and decorated in polychrome with mec...

This Wood Sculpture of an Angel would likely is a masterpiece of religious art, reflecting the exuberance and drama characteristic of the Baroque period. Baroque art often sought to ...

A superb giant ammonite fossil of the Titanites Giganteus variety mounted on a bespoke steel stand with sandstone base. Ex. private collection of Gordon Walkden. Sourced from Worth Quarry, Swanage on Britain’s Jurassic Coast, this impressive large-scale ammonite spans a length of 66 cm (25.89 in). It is an excellent example of the Titanites variety, with a defined scroll shape and natural, stone-like texture with distinctive fossilised chambers present throughout. The Titanites variety of ammonite date back as far as 152 million years to the late Tithonian period. Provenance: From the fascinating collection of Gordon Walkden (1944-2022), emeritus Professor of Geology at Aberdeen University. Affectionally known as Aberdeen’s answer to Indiana Jones, Walkden contributed enormously to research through his papers and talks on British marbles, minerals and fossils...

XVII Century Adoration of the Magi Polychrome terracotta, 24 x 18 cm The present relief, made of terracotta that retains the original polychromy, depicts the famous episode in the...

A complete prehistoric polished jigsaw ammonite fossil, originating from Madagascar, presented on an exclusive museum-quality painted plaster base. A natural historical artefact, pre...

Beautiful Baroque angel-wing. Rare and very decorative item placed on a wooden base, Italy, circa 1750. Weathered. Measurement is inclusive the wooden base. H:32,5cm W:22cm D:5,5cm

A collection of 6 natural, native copper specimens, each presented on an exclusive small wooden display base. Ex. private British collection, this group includes a range of superb s...

Beautiful weathered giltwood angelhead. France, circa 1700-1750 Weathered, several losses on the gilding and old repairs which suits its high age. Measurement here below inclusive th...

A large pyrite cluster specimen originating from Peru, displayed on one of our exclusive museum-quality painted plaster bases. Naturally formed over millions of years, this huge pyr...

Beautiful Baroque angel-wing. Rare and very decorative item placed on a wooden base, Italy, circa 1750. Weathered. Measurement is inclusive the wooden base. H:27,5cm W:23cm D:5,5cm

Splendid sculpture in white Carrara marble depicting a young Hercules holding the world. Originally, the work was conceived to be used as a caryatid at the beginning of a sumptuous m...

Wood carving of a saint (Peter)with a lot of original paint and gilding size 70cms high 27 wide and 20deep

Beautiful weathered oak panel depicting a baroque angel on an acanthus curl. Weathered and small losses, most likely it was once part of a larger panel. France circa 1750. treated ag...

Stunning period piece. Baroque angel with candleholder. Beautiful weathered old gilding France, circa 1750. Weathered, old repairs and losses. H:41cm W:29cm D:11cm

A Large European Carved Limestone Celtic Votive Head of a Male Warrior Wearing a Typical Flowing Moustache Small Beard and Curling Locks of Hair Stiffened with Lime Wash the Slit Mouth Open as if in Command Circa 1st Century BC - 1st Century AD Size: 31cm high, 22cm wide, 25cm deep - 12¼ ins high, 8¾ ins wide, 9¾ ins deep / 42cm high - 16½ ins high (with base) From about 500 BC, first Greek and later Roman historians mention peoples living in a large area of non-mediterranean Europe as Celts. These classical chroniclers seem to have recognised these communities as having sufficient shared cultural traditions to justify their being given a common name, ‘Keltoi’ by the Greeks, and ‘Celtae’ or ‘Galli’ by the Romans. The earliest allusions to Celts by such Greek historians as Herodotus (485 - 425 BC) were followed by Polybius (200 - 118 BC) and Livy (59 BC - AD 17) who discuss the expansion of the Celts from their central European homelands during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. They document the presence of Celts in Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Asia Minor, specifically central Turkey. They testify to the successful Roman resistance to the Celts in Italy, after the ignominy of the sacking of Rome by them in 387 BC, and describe the huge defeat suffered by the Celts at the battle of Telemon in northern Italy in 225 BC. The Celts in Greece who sacked the sacred site of Delphi in 279 BC were defeated by King Antigonos Gonatas of Macedon in 278 - 277 BC and in Turkey by Altalus of Pergamon in 240 BC. The Celts in Spain fell under the shadow of Rome from 2nd Century BC and the Celtic heartland known by the Romans as ‘Gaul’ was conquered by the Romans under Julius Caesar in the mid 1st Century BC. Britain was not referred to as Celtic by the ancient historians, but Caesar recognised the close similarities between Britain and Gaul especially in their political organisation. Tacitus (55 - 120 AD) and others chronicled the conquest of Britain between 43 and 84 AD some mentioning the fierce nature of the Celts who went into battle naked. Celtic art therefore belongs to an artistic tradition in the early history of Europe which is no less important than that of the classical world. Art was central to Celtic identity and was closely related to the objects which it decorated. The Celts were used to seeing art as an integral part of their everyday lives. Provenance: Ex Finch and Co...

Christ in Boxwood, France, late 16th-early 17th century Beautiful corpse of Christ with missing arms. He must have been on the Cross, arms in a horizontal position. Great expressiv...

A varied and colourful collection of 7 natural mineral specimens, each presented on an exclusive small wooden display base. Ex. private British collection, this group contains a ran...

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’...

Beautiful terracotta bust of a young charioteer, chariot driver during ancient games and tournaments. The work reflects a clear eighteenth-century style, with particular attention to...

Splendid bronze sculptural group depicting the rape of the Sabine women, made with the ancient lost wax technique. The drama of the scene is rendered with great mastery: in the cente...

Wonderful small Hand carved winged angelhead with its original gilding. Italy, circa 1750 Weathered. Measurement here below inclusive the wooden base. H:14cm W:11,5cm D:7cm

A Captive Soldier Gilt Bronze, Lost Wax Italie (Rome), 17th century H 17 x Dia 10 cm H 6 2/3 x Dia 4 inch The 17th century witnessed a flourishing of artistic expression across Eur...

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...

XVII secolo Rilievi raffiguranti papa Innocenzo XI e Pio V (2) Marmo, cm diametro 29 I due manufatti in esame, una rara coppia di tondi in marmo riferibili al XVII secolo, rappre...

A large natural plate type carboniferous fossilised fern. Showing ferns in relief, this fossil would certainly make a stunning new display or decorative piece for any home or collect...

A large botryoidal green malachite specimen from Kolwezi, Congo, presented on an exclusive museum-quality painted plaster display plinth. Named for its distinctive form resembling a...

Natural Quartz Geode Decorative Object

Natural Quartz Geode Decorative Object

Unusual pair of two small Delft earthenware cows with enamel. They had rough life but still very nice. Additional information: Material: Porcelain & Pottery Region of Origin: Europe...

Large Cast and Chiseled Bronze Plaque Saint Sebastian after the model by Guido Reni (Capitoline Museum) Rome, 17th century Large rectangular bronze plaque depicting the martyrdom of...

Gorgeous hand-carved wooden lion with its original weathered gilding. France circa 1750 Weathered, small losses and old repair . Measurements include the wooden base. H:37,5cm W:28...

Natural Quartz Geode Decorative Object

18th Century Monumental Marble Sculpture Representing Neptune

This is a charming Derby figure of a shepherdess with a garlanded lamb, made in or shortly after 1760. The figure is one half of a set called the "Garland...

18th Century Meissen Porcelain Figure, Rhesus Monkey and child, model 1464, circa 1750 . Modelled by J.J. Kändler. Monkey, with outstretched hand holding fruit, and child chained ...

Beautiful and unique handcarved white marble winged double angel head ornament. Italy, circa 1750. Weathered . Measurement includes the wooden base. H:24cm W:23cm D:10cm

Two Saints In Polychrome Wood, Portugal, 17th Century Size 1:1

18th Century Meissen Porcelain Figures, Turkish / Persian Lady & Gentleman. circa 1755 Both designed by Johann Joachim Kaendler, Rare and early examples of both models.

Head of a crowned Virgin Île-de-France, first half of 14th century. H26 x 14 x 14 cm Provenance : - Private Collection, Paris France (1960) - Private Collection Tuscany, Italy (19...