Archéologie & Antiquiities

Egyptian sarcophagus mask, Thebes, c.943-716 BC, wooden carving, 20.3cm high. LONDON.- At almost 3000 years old, this Egyptian sarcophagus mask of a woman has a 19th century provenance to the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Dorset. From the city of Thebes c.943-716 BC, the 20.3cm high wooden carving is painted in ochre red, the cosmetic lines, eyebrows and pupils in black, the cornea in white. Unusually for such a piece, the records give an exact date for the sale to Lieut-General Fox Pitt-Rivers (1827-1900) of... [Lire la suite]

Samitum-woven silk with confronted deer in medallions, Central Asia, 7th-8th century. H: 105; W: 46 cm. Inv. no. 4/2005. © The David Collection. This magnificent textile with confronted deer placed on winged palmettes in medallions was probably made in Sogdiana, the area north and east of the Amu Darya (Oxus) River. The motif comes from Sasanian Iran, but the rendition of this piece is stiffer than that of its models. Medallion motifs with single or confronted figures are also known from Byzantium (and China), and survived in the... [Lire la suite]

Tapestry with horseman, dyed wool and undyed linen, Egypt (Coptic), 7th century. Diam: 20 cm. Inv. no. 3/2006. © The David Collection. A dry climate has preserved large numbers of colorful tapestries that were produced in Egypt by Coptic Christians both before and after the Muslim conquest in 641. Their decoration first and foremost reflects the motifs of Late Antiquity, but also the textiles that were woven by the Byzantines, who had ruled Egypt for periods. The use of the tapestry or kilim techniques and wool and linen as... [Lire la suite]

Lot 23. A Magnificent Hopewell Cache, Hopewell Culture, Middle Woodland Period, 200 B.C. - A.D. 400, Spencer County, Indiana, blade length 11 in. Estimate: $50,000-$80,000. Sold for $162,000. Courtesy Cowan's Auctions NEW YORK, NY.- One of the most significant assemblages of Hopewell Culture prehistoric art ever collected more than doubled its high estimate selling for $162,000 on bidsquare.com during Cowan's Auctions' Part I of the Collection of Art Gerber: Ancient Art of the Eastern... [Lire la suite]

Lot 78. A Sarmatian gold lion griffin head appliqué, Northern Black Sea or Central Asian Steppes, circa 2nd century B.C.-1st century A.D. Lenght 4.5 cm., depth 1.5 cm. Estimate 3,500 — 4,500 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's. repoussé and with turquoise and enamel inlays over A black substance, probably bitumen. Provenance: Drouot, Paris, May 29th-30th, 1963, no. 29, cover illus.acquired by the present owner at the above sale. Note:Such objects were probably ornaments from horse trappings or attachments to weaponry... [Lire la suite]

Lot 77. A Gold Torque, probably Sarmatian, Northern Black Sea Area or Central Asian Steppes, circa 1st-2nd Century A.D. Diameter 15 cm. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 GBP. Lot sold 68,750 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's. of solid circular section with hinged opening section and fastener, inlaid with carnelian and niello.. Provenance: Drouot, Paris, May 29th-30th, 1963, no. 27, illus. Note: The missing inlays may have been in a material more susceptible to decomposition with time and, on the basis of comparison... [Lire la suite]

Lot 76. An Egyptian Glass and Carnelian Bead and Pendant Necklace, New Kingdom, 1540-1075 B.C. Largest pendants 1.1 cm. length as strung together 42.9 cm. Estimate 7,000 — 10,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's. composed of numerous deep blue glass and five jasper-red glass cornflower seed pendants, interspersed with globular carnelian beads. Provenance: Goddard and Josephine DuBois, acquired in Egypt circa 1901-1907Dr. Goddard DuBois, San Diego (Sotheby's, New York, December 8th, 2015, lot 44, illus.)acquired from the... [Lire la suite]

Lot 15. A Pair of Greek Gold Earrings, Magna Graecia, circa late 4th-early 3rd  Century B.C. Heights 5.7 cm. Estimate 15,000 — 25,000 GBP. Courtesy Sotheby's. each composed of a disk with beaded perimeter centering a repoussé lion mask within a border of beaded scrolling filigree, a small rosette forming the link to the pendant below, each pendant in the form of an inverted pyramid ornamented with globules, filigree leaves, and palmettes, the  biconical finial missing on one earring. ... [Lire la suite]

A Fragmentary Roman Marble Oscillum, Circa 1st Century A.D. Est. 60,000-90,000. Courtesy Sotheby's. LONDON.- Following the strong results of last season’s sale, which soared beyond pre-sale expectations and totalled £3.9 million, Sotheby’s forthcoming sale of Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art will return to London with a vast selection of works spanning ancient Egypt and the Near East to Classical Greece and Rome. Sotheby’s Worldwide Head of Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art, Florent Heintz, says: “Not only... [Lire la suite]

LONDON.- An arresting Roman marble portrait head of a man, possibly a priest, leads Bonhams Antiquities sale in London on Thursday 5 July. It is estimated at £60,000-80,000.  The marble portrait dates from between the 1st Century B.C. and the early 1st Century A.D. The subject is completely bald – a rarity in sculptures of this period – and the reason for that may lie in his vocation. The scalp gives the appearance of having been shaved, which suggests the man might have been a priest of the cult of Isis, which... [Lire la suite]