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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

Huge Tyrannosaurus Rex Fossil Femur
Located in London, GB
Fossilised Tyrannosaurus Rex Femur Late Cretaceous, circa 67 Million years before present Height: 3 foot and 11.5 inches. Found on the Orwick Ranch, Butte County, South Dakota, July 7th 2020. An enormous fossilised femur, one of the largest examples known, from an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex measuring an estimated 12 metres in length and weighing up to 7 tonnes. A beautifully preserved, sculptural fossil, with a mottled dark brown surface. Found in Butte County, South Dakota, this fossil comes from the Hell Creek ecosystem, where the first T. rex fossils were unearthed in 1902 by Barnum Brown, a palaeontologist with the American Museum of Natural History. On 25 July 1902, in sheer awe of his discovery, Brown wrote, ‘Quarry No. 1 contains the femur, pubes, humerus, three vertebrae and two undetermined bones of a large Carnivorous Dinosaur... I have never seen anything like it from the Cretaceous.’ The genus was first classified following its complete excavation in 1905. In that year, Henry Fairfield Osborne, President of the American Museum of Natural History, stated: ‘I propose to make this animal the type of a new genus, Tyrannosaurus, in reference to its size, which greatly exceeds that of any carnivorous land animal hitherto described...’ Osborne could not help celebrating his museum’s spectacular acquisition. He further stated that ‘This animal is in fact the ne plus ultra of the evolution of the large carnivorous dinosaurs: in brief it is entitled to the royal and high sounding group name which I have applied to it...’ This name - deriving from the Greek and Latin for ‘tyrant lizard king...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier American Natural Specimens

Materials

Stone

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 ...
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

Extraordinary Iridescent Ammonite Fossil
Located in London, GB
A magnificent example of one of the most spectacular fossils. A large and intensely vibrant ammonite, Placenticeras costatum, from the Bearpaw formation, Alberta, Canada, dating to t...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Canadian Natural Specimens

Materials

Other

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

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

Natural Gogotte Formation
Located in London, GB
'Louis XIV' Gogotte Formation Measures: circa 30 Million y/o 105 x 76 x 15 cm A magnificent example of a gogotte formation, nicknamed Louis XIV, composed of thick swirls and fol...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier French Natural Specimens

Materials

Sandstone

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

Ancient South Arabian Alabaster Inscription
Located in London, GB
South Arabian Alabaster Inscription Calcite Alabaster circa 1st century A.D. ‘’Consequently, neither white marble of Paros nor any other stone which men admire can be compared with the precious stones of Arabia, since their whiteness is most brilliant, their weight the heaviest, and their smoothness leaves no room for other stones to surpass them.’’ - Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Book II, 52.9 This inscription, finely worked on an alabaster tablet, is a remarkably well preserved example of Ancient South Arabian script, with its distinct bold, angular forms, written in the Qatabanic dialect - that is, the dialect spoken by the people of the kingdom of Qataban, which ruled much of modern day Yemen from the 7th Century B.C. to the 2nd Century A.D. The text, which reads: ‘[... ...]sa?d and Ma?add?i- / (of the lineage) of Hawfa- / She entrusted Anb- / against any malfeasance (which would remove it) from its place’ - indicates that it likely served to commemorate a temple offering. The quality of the script, incised so neatly into the surface of the alabaster, tells us that this piece was commissioned by somebody of considerable wealth and prestige, employing a scribe of equally considerable expertise. South Arabia was known throughout the ancient world for its incredible wealth - so much so that the Romans termed the region ‘Arabia Felix’ - literally, ‘Happy, or Fortunate, Arabia.’ That wealth was built largely on the trade of spices and incense, in which the Kingdom of Qataban played a major part. According to Pliny the Elder, this was the sole country through which frankincense could be exported, first being collected in the city of Shabwa, on the South Arabian coast, and from there travelling by camel up to Gaza, to be shipped all across the Mediterranean - not only that, but all growers of myrrh across Arabia were required to give a quarter of their yield to the king of the Qatabanians. As such, the kingdom became exceedingly rich and powerful, and Pliny goes on to tell us that ‘The nations of the Larendani and the Catabani, and the Gebanitæ [...] occupy a great number of towns, the largest of which are Nagia, and Thomna (the capital of Qataban) with sixty-five temples, a number which fully bespeaks its size.’ Because of the nature of its exports, frankincense in particular - the ‘sweat of of the gods’ according to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and perhaps most famous as one of the three gifts brought to the newborn Christ - being closely associated with the divine, South Arabia’s reputation in antiquity was as a mysterious, almost sacred, and - crucially - extraordinarily wealthy region, at the very edge of the known world; in the words of Herodotus: ‘’Enough of marvels, and yet the land of Arabia gives off a scent as sweet as if divine.’’ This inscription invokes the protection of god Anbay, the judge-oracle of the chief god ‘Amm, who he served as an attendant. Much of what we know of the religious life of the ancient South Arabians comes to us from early Islamic texts, describing what is known in Islamic scholarship as ‘Jahiliyyah’ - the age before the advent of Islam in Arabia. What comes across in much of these texts is that these religious practices placed a great deal of emphasis on sacred stones, perhaps linked to the brilliance of the alabaster which is local to the region, and which a great many of the cult-objects produced in this time are made from. Hisham ibn-Al-Kalbi’s Book of Idols records: ‘’The Arabs were passionately fond of worshipping idols [...] Whenever a traveller stopped at a place or station in order to rest or spend the night, he would select for himself four stones, pick out the finest among them and adopt it as his god, and use the remaining three as supports for his cooking-pot.’’ This inscription was once in the collection of the intrepid British-Australian travel...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Yemeni Abstract Sculptures

Materials

Alabaster

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

Gogotte Formation
Gogotte Formation
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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

Stone Meteorite with Black Fusion Crust
Located in London, GB
Hammadah al Hamra 346 Meteorite Circa 4.56 Billion y/o Chondrite - L6 1386 g On 26 August, 2018, a large fireball was spotted burning through the sky over the Jabal al Gharbi D...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Libyan 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

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

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

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

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...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier French Natural Specimens

Materials

Sandstone

Extraterrestrial Sculpture, Huge Aesthetic Meteorite
Located in London, GB
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...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Moroccan Natural Specimens

Materials

Iron

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

End-Cut from the Imilac Meteorite
Located in London, GB
Imilac Meteorite End-Cut circa 4.5 Billion y/o Measures: 10 x 13 x 1 cm “This 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...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Chilean Natural Specimens

Materials

Iron, Nickel

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

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

Seymchan Meteorite End-Cut
Located in London, GB
Seymchan Meteorite end-cut circa 4.5 Billion y/o 4.89 kg “This jagged exterior endcut of the Seymchan pallasite has patches of olivine-free met...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Russian Natural Specimens

Materials

Iron, Nickel

Canyon Diablo Meteorite from Arizona
Located in London, GB
Canyon Diablo Meteorite 4.5 Billion y/o Iron, IAB-MG 3.823 kg A sculptural iron meteorite from the famous Barringer crater, Coconino County, Arizon...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier American Natural Specimens

Materials

Iron

Huge Fossilised Fern Plant
Located in London, GB
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...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier German Natural Specimens

Materials

Stone

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

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

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

Lunar Meteorite
Lunar Meteorite
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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

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

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

Lunar Meteorite
Located in London, GB
A Piece of the Moon - Superb Lunar Meteorite NWA 11303 4.5 Billion y/o This beautiful lunar meteorite fragment belongs to NWA 11303, a fel...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Algerian Natural Specimens

Materials

Stone

Lunar Meteorite
Lunar Meteorite
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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

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 Foot
Roman Marble Foot
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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tyrannosaurus Rex Tooth Fossil
Located in London, GB
The tooth of an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex, dating to the Late Cretaceous, approximately 67 million years old. A large, beautifully preserved specimen, ...
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

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

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

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

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 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

Roman Portrait Bust of a Noble Woman
Located in London, GB
Roman miniature bust of a noble woman, carved marble, Severan Dynasty, c. 225 A.D. Rare and particularly elegant ‘wig portrait’ of a noble woman, belonging to the early 3rd Century - a style distinctive of Severan Dynasty female portrait busts, in which part of the head has been chiselled away to allow for the addition of a separate hairpiece, in many cases from a darker material, in order to create an almost painterly effect, in the interplay of different coloured stones. The degree of naturalism and emotional depth achieved in a piece of such a small scale implies a sculptor of great talent. The subtle parting of the lips, in combination with her upturned, vacant gaze and tired eyes, conveys a pensive mood, and even a quiet melancholy. A woman strolls the town in thick wigs bought with gold, Then buys new hair to complement the old. And having bought, she doesn’t blush! Right there she buys, Before Alcides’ and the Muses’ eyes. (Ovid, Ars Amatoria, III, 161-168) The fashion of wig-wearing in this period, as well as its emulation in the wig portrait bust, is widely attributed to Julia Domna...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Italian Classical Roman Busts

Materials

Marble

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

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

Egyptian Head of a Man
Located in London, GB
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...
Category

Antique 15th Century and Earlier Egyptian Egyptian Busts

Materials

Granite

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