Gold Wreath

Two pairs of two halves from the same bar, finely detailed, with pointed ears and eyebrows, opaque yellow face, opaque red on the mouth, nose, eyes and ears, translucent cobalt blue edges to the mouth, nose and ears, with translucent emerald green leaves above and between the translucent cobalt blue brows and eye line, translucent pink pupils, with translucent cobalt blie and opaque white snake scales below the face, in translucent cobalt blue matrix, cut in the lower part of a cartouche design. These rare heads might represent the Agathos Daimon, the tutelary deity of Alexandria, who was also identified with Serapis, the male counterpart of Isis-Thermouthis (who in turn was a graecisized form of the early snake harvest goddess Renenutet). In a statue of Isis-Thermouthis in Alexandria museum (no. 25773, ex-collection King Farouk I), reproduced in Gotten, Pharaonen, no. 151, the snake goddess...

A female head finely carved from evenly-coloured cream alabaster. The face features a strong chin, high rounded cheekbones, and large elliptical eyes deeply inset for inlays. The remains of the nose indicate that it was long, thin, and roughly triangular in form. A small, round mouth sits just below the nose. Deeply incised eyebrows follow the shape of the eyes, which are framed by unusual grooved canthi on either side, possibly to represent cosmetic eye paint. The supraorbital margins above the eyes are deeply carved, while the carving below the eyes is more subtle, smoothing the sockets into the rounded cheeks. The ears are formed from two arcs and a central sphere, and both lobes are pierced for earrings. The long hair frames the face below the ears, and is carved to create a rougher texture. There is a stock sticker on the back of the neck. A fragment of the right shoulder remains. This suggests that the head was part of a larger sculpture, possibly a full figure (though this seems unlikely due to its relatively large scale) or, more likely, a bust. This head is stylistically aligned with those found at Timna, the capital of the ancient Yemeni kingdom of Qataban, which existed from the 1st millennium BC until the late 1st or 2nd centuries AD. Timna served as an important hub of the Incense Route, the camel caravan that transported incense from Arabia and India to ports on the Mediterranean Sea. Roman author and philosopher Pliny the Elder (23/24-79 AD) described Timna as a busy city with around 65 temples. Excavations in 1950 and 1951 by Wendell Phillips...

A fragment of indurated limestone carved in sunk relief. A row of three shrouded deities are depicted seated, facing left, each wearing a broad collar and char...

Grey schist fragment incised in deep relief with a cartouche bearing the pre-nomen, or regnal name of Ramesses II, commonly known as ‘Ramesses the Great’. This relief comes from the ...

A partial skull of a fully grown Triceratops prorsus from the Maastrichtian, late Cretaceous period (68-65 million years ago). It is in three parts, and has an impressively sized nas...

Glazed ceramic bowl with a convex wall and everted rim. With a cobalt blue inscription in the centre which reads, “baraka li-sahibihi” (blessing to its owner). Ceramics such as t...

Gold mounted walking cane 9 ct marked gold topped cane in good condition on snakewood shaft. Original ferrule.L 92cm, round top 3cm dia. Circa 1900. English.

A thin, circular Roman gold pendant featuring a central garnet cabochon gem held within a raised cell. Above it, another garnet cabochon enriches th...

A matched pair of gold earrings, each made of a wire elongated hoop culminating with a teardrop turquoise cabochon. The bottom half of the loop is decorated with three rows of gold b...

A lovely pair of Roman gold earrings comprised of a delicate hoop, secured with a hook and eye closure, and adorned with a boss shield. The shield features ...

An Egyptian steatite scarab with incised features and hieroglyphs to the reverse. The front anatomy features a detailed head and clypeus with incised linear decoration to mark the prothorax and elytra. The reverse side is hard to distinguish. Mounted in a high karat later gold swivel pendant...

A Hellenistic matching pair of gold earrings that exude beauty and elegance. The delicate filigree work, coupled with the spherical baubles at each point of the radiating design, sho...