Instinct, Scholarship and Curiosity: The Jan Finch Collection

A 'Cabinet of Curiosities' medical jar,displaying the 'Rana temporaria, Frog Life History', the tall cylindrical jar with an applied plaque 'T. Ge...

A taxidermy parrot,naturalistically modelled perched on a tree stump,40cm high, under an oval glass domeCondition ReportGood colours.A small amoun...

A pair of green silk brocaded trousers,17th/18th century, English, said to have once been worn by Sir Jeffrey Hudson (1619-1682), court dwarf to Q...

A folk art cowbell,bell 26cm long, anda long leather 'poacher's' dog lead,with brass appliqués,220cm long (2) ...[more]

An unusual wooden pipe,probably 17th century, Sri Lankan or Indian, carved with a recumbent lion and bowl,18.5cm long, anda bugbear vessel,probabl...

A stalactite fragment,on a modern stand,23cm high,a tree fungus,23cm wide, anda large dried seedpod or gourd,31cm long (3)Condition ReportAll as s...

A collection of decorative shells,comprising three large conch shells, together with further small seashells and a piece of faded coral, plus two ...

An old hippopotamus skullCondition ReportNo lower jaw, wear and losses through age. In very dry condition. This piece does not appear to be fossil...

A pair of sherbet spoons,early 19th century, Ottoman, each with a coconut shell bowl, bone stem and coral finial, 28cm overall, together with mode...

A tree fungus 'Ganoderma resinaceum',late 19th century, a wall bracket on a shaped board, 35.5cm wide23.5cm deep, andanother,31cm wide (2)Conditio...

A carved rhea egg,19th century, South American, carved with the legend 'The Oriental Republic of Uruguay is composed of Three Cities, Eighteen Vil...

A carved coconut cup inscribed 'Ambassade De Perse',early 19th century, French, the three ambassadors with a young attendant carved in low relief,...

A taxidermy lizard, c.1900, 69cm long,a giant forest hog mount by Rowland Ward,mounted on an ebonised shield, Rowland Ward paper label verso,30cm ...

A Victorian taxidermy specimen,an African tree pangolin, Manis tricuspis, on an ebonised base,pangolin 50cm longbase 61cm longCondition ReportPoss...

A large full mount taxidermy,19th century, of an Indian radiated star tortoise, Geochelone radiata, 40cm long24cm wide20cm highCondition ReportSom...

A Spanish colonial armadillo tail shot flask,probably 18th century, South American, with engraved white metal mounts and suspension chain,7cm long...

An unusual netsuke,19th century, formed from the upper jaw of a fox, black lacquered and painted red, the himotoshi to the top,6.5cm long ...[mor...

A Victorian stick pin, fashioned from the 'spurs' of Lord Lonsdale and Lord Yarborois cockfighting birds, with a gold mount, the gold pin terminat...

A gold-mounted pipe tamper,modelled from the foreleg of a Southeast Asian miniature mouse-deer, Tragulus javanicus, 7.5cm long, in a shagreen case...

A delicate sherbet spoon, late 18th/early 19th century, Turkish Ottoman, with a tear-shaped tortoiseshell bowl, a coral stem and brass segment fin...

An unusual coffin-shaped table snuffbox,mid-19th century, with a silver presentation plaque 'Mrs Matthew Gray by the Workers of Peel St. factory.....

A specimen wood sewing box,c.1840, West Indian, attributed to Ralph Turnbull or James Pitkin, the cube parquetry lid, with starburst marquetry to ...

A rock crystal finger or 'charivari',18/19th century, Bavarian, with a cast white-metal mount, to be worn on a belt to protect and aid a hunter,5....

A 'witch's' mirror,19th/20th century, mounted in an ebonised frame,36cm diameterCondition ReportSome light foxing to glass. General knocks and wea...

Lord Byron interest: a Staffordshire enamel box,late 18th century, painted with Sèvres-style floral bouquets, the inside of the lid with a butterf...

An unusual copper and brass tobacco box,mid-18th century, Dutch, engraved with falconry and hunting scenes,17.5cm wide5cm deep3cm highCondition Re...

A pair of large 'crèche' or 'presepio' figures,probably early 18th century, Neapolitan, each with polychrome terracotta heads, hands and lower leg...

A Luba-Hemba carved wood headrest,late 19th/early 20th century, Congolese, carved with a caryatid female support,13cm wide10cm deep14cm highProven...

A Shona or Tsonga softwood headrest,19th century, South African, on an 'X' shaped base with two lugs having animal hair, perhaps giraffe, and glas...

A Kuba carved wood headrest,late 19th century, Congolese, with geometric decoration and brass studded ends,21cm wide7.5cm deep14cm highProvenance:...

A good Shona carved softwood headrest,19th century, Southern African, the base worked with four and five rings on an 'X' motif,22cm wide15.5cm hig...

A Kuba People carved softwood double headrest,early 20th century, Democratic Republic of Congo, worked with typical geometric patterns,44cm long12...

A 'sali' or war club,18th/19th century, Fijian, probably ironwood, of typical form, the head with a spur, a cutting edge and carved geometric deco...

An ironwood war club of 'apa'apai' form,mid-late 18th century, Western Polynesian, the spatulate head engraved with fifteen anthropomorphic and zo...

An Oceanic Fijian hardwood 'gata' or 'kiakavo' snake war club,early 19th century, carved into a distinctive spur end on a chip-carved handle,100cm...

A rare nokonoko wood club,probably 19th century, Viti Levu Island, Fijian, in the form of an axe, the head with carved geometric lines,88cm long, ...

A Baule People loom heddle pulley,early 20th century, Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa, hardwood,18cm high, together with a modern standProvenance: The ...

A Yaka People carved wood female figure,early 20th century, Congolese, collection number to the underside of the foot 'RC 503',21cm high, together...

A rare pair of carved wooden idols,early 20th century, probably Caroline or Mortlock Islands, in the form of a crouching male and female figure, t...

A Northern Oyo Shaki female Ibeji,19th century, West African, with an elegant torso with long arms, the eyes inset with tiny nails,8cm wide18cm hi...

A hardwood female fertility doll or 'akua'ba',late 19th/early 20th century, probably Ghana, West Africa,29.5cm highProvenance: The collection of E...

Two African wooden masks,a Mali Bambara Kore Society dance mask, early 20th century, depicting a hyena,28cm long, anda Dan People blackened mask, ...

A Zulu carved soapstone pipe,19th century, South African,pipe 10.5cm long, together with a modern stand (2)Condition ReportMinor wear. 31.7g. Plea...

An unusually large pair of hardwood chairs,early 19th century, South African Dutch Cape, each with a 52cm wide woven hide string seat,99cm high (2...

A West African hardwood axe,with a steel blade, issuing from a carved head,38cm longCondition ReportWear and patination suggest a date possibly la...

An 'I ula drisia' throwing club,19th century, Fijian, of unusual carved form,38.5cm long, together with a modern stand (2)Condition ReportGood pat...

A hardwood 'I ula drisia' warrior's throwing club,early 19th century, Oceanic Fijian, the head embedded with a tooth and carvings to the handle,39...

A Chokwe chief's ebony staff of club form,19th century, Angolan, the head with a 'cut-out' zigzag design between brass studs,68.5cm longCondition ...

A Zulu rhinoceros horn knobkerrie,19th century, South African,81cm overall Condition ReportConstructed from Rhinocerous horn as catalogued. Please...

An Aboriginal wooden shield,mid-19th century, Central Desert, Australia, engraved on both sides and coloured in red ochre,75.5cm wide7cm deepCondi...

A rare Australian Aboriginal hardwood parrying shield,probably mid-19th century, Murray River region, with geometric stone-cut decoration and trac...

An Aboriginal stone-carved wooden shield or 'wunda',19th century, Western Desert, Australia, coloured with natural pigments,74cm wide20cm deepCond...

A 'double-carved' wooden bow,19th century, Andaman Islands,124cm longThe Andaman Islands form an archipelago of around 300 islands in the Bay of B...

A lime spatula, c.1880, Oro Province, Collingwood Bay, Papua New Guinea, carved in the form of a shark, with collection label inscribed 'Beasley C...

A carved ebony lime spatula,early 20th century, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea, carved with a figural finial, interlocking scrolls, the sharp...

A Maori 'toki',19th century, the adzed curved wooden shaft supporting a greenstone adze blade bound with flax,51cm long, together with a modern st...

A carved hardwood chief's 'Icula Ni Bakola' cannibal fork,early to mid-19th century, Fijian,31cm overall, on a modern display stand (2)Condition R...

A men's hair comb,early 20th century, Papua New Guinea Highlands, with a dancing feather bird,39cm long, on a modern display stand (2)Provenance: ...

An unusual Western Australian Aboriginal saw knife,late 19th century, Minang people, hardwood with inset possum teeth and a twine handle,21cm long...

An Australian Aboriginal hardwood spear thrower or 'Meru',19th century, probably Western Victoria, of paddle shape, a handwritten label verso read...