Huge Prehistoric Cave Bear Skeleton

Three Flint cores or 'Livres de Beurre' Late Neolithic, 3rd millennium B.C. Flint With their rugged forms and deep golden-caramel exteriors, these exceptional ‘livres de beurre’ (‘pounds of butter’) represent remarkable artefacts from Late Neolithic France. These objects, local to Grand-Pressigny, are named for their resemblance to the slabs of artisanal butter produced in the region. These objects are in fact flint cores; the stones from which long, sharp sherds were flaked, to be crafted into blades and daggers, leaving behind the sloping ridges that run along their surfaces, lending these objects a wonderfully tactile quality that calls to mind Jean Genet’s words, describing the works of Giacometti - they are ‘sculptures for the blind.’ Despite their utilitarian purpose, and the almost accidental way in which these flint cores were made, in pieces like this we catch a glimpse of the playful aesthetic sensibility of the Neolithic artisans, in their bold symmetric silhouettes, and in the rich, marbled colour for which these particular stones from Grand Pressigny were chosen, to be mined in the region and sent to workshops all over Western Europe. Unlike other Neolithic tools...

This spectacular gogotte was finely modelled by the movement of silica-rich water through loose sand. The thick swirls and folds of sparkling sandstone roll into one another to creat...

A large and extremely decorative fossilised seed fern (Neuropteris dussartii), from the Piesberg quarry, North-West Germany. Dating to the Carboniferous Period, 359 - 300 million years before present. This piece is a beautifully preserved snapshot of a long extinct plant species. The fronds are spread out across the surface of the stone and fossilised in remarkable detail, the intricate detail of the leafs and textures of the stems clearly visible, with areas of the once green fern...

Huge Chondrite Meteorite NWA 12759 Stone, Chondrite - L5 50 kg “This beautiful individual sample 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...

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 ...

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...

Standing at over 120cm (47 inches) tall, this rare prehistoric fossilised whale bone is a fascinating sculptural artefact for an interior or live-in museum....

A sensational 19th century skeleton in bronze originating from the Louvain University Of Medicine - Belgium. An excellent addition to any doctor...

Rustic Black Forest (19th Cent) carved walnut humidor in the shape of a bear figure standing near tree stump (with ashtray and covered container)

A fabulous Italian articulated model of a human skeleton on a silver and malachite stand, mid 20th century, Milan, Italy. The skeleton anatomically...

Rustic Black Forest (19th Cent) carved walnut seated bear figure with hinged head and ashtray

A solid bronze bear sculpture desktop cigar cutter manufactured in Austria. The scissor action steel blades are remove-able form the mouth of the roaring bear. Excellent condition. S...