Sally Arnup FRBS, ARCA (1930-2015) ''Two Week Old Chick'', (1977) Signed and inscribed A/C, bronze, 17cm high Provenance: From the artist's estate See illustration Sally Arnup was one of the finest animal sculptors of her generation. Her passion for and affinity with both material and subject, and her insistence on working from life, shines through in the sheer vitality and character in each and every sculpture. Sally Baynton-Williams was born in London in 1930; she recounted how at the age of two and a half she was given a lump of clay at nursery school and felt an instant fascination with the material. From a young age she set her heart on becoming a sculptor, and with the support of her family left conventional schooling at the age of 13 to train at Kingston College of Art. After spending a year at Camberwell School of Art, in 1950 Sally entered the Royal College of Art, where she would be tutored by eminent sculptors such as Frank Dobson and John Skeaping, who was himself a renowned animalier (see lots 167 and 168). Here she met sculptors Elisabeth Frink and Jacob Epstein, the latter whom she met whilst he was working on a monumental sculpture in Skeaping's college studio. In 1953 Sally married Mick Arnup, a painter and ceramicist whom she had met whilst studying at Kingston College of Art. In 1957 the Arnups moved to Holtby, near York, where they set up both home and studio to raise their four children and work together. Sally worked at the York College of Art from 1958 to 1972, where she was Head of Sculpture, and where Mick would become Vice Principal and Head of Foundation. Mick died in 2008, and Sally died in 2015 following a stroke. Their artistic legacy has been continued by their children; Hannah and Ben are well-regarded potters and Tobias a painter. Sally worked largely to commission, sculpting animals of all shapes and sizes. She insisted on working from life and liked to spend as much time with her subject as possible, studying their character, preferably in the animal's natural habitat or home. Animals were often taken to her studio; indeed, following a commission to make a sculpture of a swan for the Vintners Company in London, Sally borrowed two rescue swans from a sanctuary. Never working from photographs or rarely even sketches, Sally preferred to work directly in clay, a practise which shows through in the naturalism of her finished bronzes. This was a time-consuming process, and together with the complex lost-wax technique she employed to turn a clay model into a finished bronze, meant that Sally had a limited output of work during her career. Indeed, from start to finish, a life size sculpture could take three years to make. Sally worked every day except Sunday into her eighties, sculpting pets, working animals, farm animals and wildlife for private clients and institutions. Notable commissions included sculpting a cast silver leopard to present to HM the Queen by the City of York, which is now in the Royal Collection, and she also sculpted a life-size bronze of 'Storm', a fell pony, for Prince Philip, which she worked on in the stables at Windsor Castle. Her work has been exhibited around the world, including at the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of Artists, the Royal Society of British Artists. Sally was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
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A rare Chinese Qing dynasty Xianfeng period (1851-1861) 100 cash coin in bronze/brass Huang-tong 黃銅, Fujian province cast 1853-55 with 'Yong' chop mark to reverse top of rim an indistinct chop mark to the front rim and one faint chop to the edge of the coin. Total weight approx. 170 grams. Diameter 68mm. Condition overall good. Provenance: Gifted from the parents to the owner as a child in 1955 at the age of 11. The parents who owned an antique shop gave the coin to their son who kept the coin in a box until around 2012. See similar example sold by 'Stephen Album Rare Coins'
Japanese Antique Samurai Edo - Period Katana Tsuba of Large Size, Soten Kinko - Sukashi Mokka Gata Shape, Inlaid on Both Sides with a Sage Feeding a Monkey, Picked Out In Silver and Bronze Highlights, Worn Consistent with Age and Use, Fully Signed by the Japanese Maker - Please See Photos. Size 3.5 x 3 Inches.
Late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC. A carved granite(?) columnar idol with waisted body, transverse slot to each flat face. Cf. Pottier, M. H., Matériel funéraire de la Bactriane méridonale de L' Age du Bronze, Mémoire, Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations, 36, p.16, pl.V, nos.34-5 for two virtually identical lingams called 'masses d'arme', and p.43, pl.XXXV, nos.292-3 for similar yoni; also, Schmidt, E. F., Tepe Hissar Excavations, 1931, The Museum Journal, XXIII, no.4, 1933, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, pl.CXXXVI. 3.5 kg, 25cm (10"). Property of a North London gentleman; previously with Pars Gallery, London, W1; in the 1990s. [No Reserve] Fine condition.
10th century AD. An elaborate Petersen Type L or O variant double-edged sword; the straight blade pattern-welded tapering from a width of about 5cm at the cross-guard; the point is still well preserved; both cutting edges show strong traces of employment on the battlefield with battle-nicks along their length; the tapered fullers, are 2cm at their origin adjacent to the cross-guard, and are still well preserved running from their largest width of 2.5cm to 1cm at the lower extreme end where they run to about 9cm of the point; the blade goes straight into the cross-guard with a broad and long tang, befitting such a fine blade; the boat-shaped cross is 5cm wide; its rounded ends are highly decorated with silver inlaid, onto which intricate whirling interlaced patterns are traced, and curve gently towards the blade; the massive pommel has a curved base-element and five lobes, decorated with the same silver inlaid patterns visible on the lower guard; the pommel knob, decorated in the same way, is attached to the pommel guard through rivets. See Petersen, J., De Norske Vikingesverd, Oslo, 1919; Oakeshott, R.E., The Archaeology of the weapons, London, 1960; Peirce, I.,Swords of the Viking Age, Suffolk, 2002; ?abi?ski, G., Viking Age Swords from Scotland, in Acta Militaria Mediaevalia III, Kraków, Sanok, 2007, pp.29-84; the sword finds parallels in various similar Viking age specimens of L variant; two very similar swords have been published by Peirce (2002, pp.77-81), both preserved at the British Museum; one of these is the famous Witham sword (Oakeshott, 1960, p.134); from the other side the combination of the curved guard with the five lobes seems to design an evolution of the pattern of variant O, like the sword of Oslo University (from Vestre Berg, Løiten parish, Akershus, Norway, see Peirce, 2002, pp.87ff.), or more evidently like the Gunnarsby (Rygge, Smaal) sword (Petersen, 1919, fig.105"). Petersen includes in the second group of O type eight swords exemplars, all having like our specimen, hilts covered in silver plates. 1.3 kg, 91cm (35 3/4").From a North West London collection; previously acquired in the 1980s; accompanied by an archaeological report of military specialist Dr. Raffaele D’Amato.Most probably our specimen is a river find, like most swords of this type. The most remarkable part of this sword is the magnificently decorated hilt, the result of fine craftsmanship. The very fine state of preservation suggests that this sword was protected by Glødeskall, a compound of iron and oxygen created when an iron object is subjected to intense heat, able to provide some protection against corrosion, by means of the shell (skall) or skin which the process forms around the object (Peirce, 2002, p.36, n.2"). The hilt of type O swords, especially their beautiful five-lobed pommels and cross-guards, were usually completely covered in a brilliant copper alloy or silver. The decoration of the guard is very similar to a sword of type O auctioned in 2013, and, owing to its lavish decoration, combining Roman and Norse elements, was said to belong to the Varangian Guard. Moreover also our specimen, like the one auctioned in 2013, has a pommel made of ferrous metal, rather than the copper alloy more commonly used for the hilts of type O. The only known type O Viking sword from Scotland is from Eriskay, generally dated to 900-950 AD, and has a pommel and a cross piece made of an iron core covered of bronze (?abi?ski, 2007, p.63"). This is typical of the swords of the second group O, in which the guards are made of iron with a cover of silver plates, exactly like our specimen. The silver plates are decorated with animal ornamentation and with a more ordinary twined band, like here, in a sword auctioned in 2013 and the Gunnarsby sword. Unlike the sword auctioned in 2013, the blade inlay is entirely typical for the proposed 10th century dating. The decoration is akin to the Hiberno-Norse style, which is the most commonly identified regional attribution of the Type O hilt group.Very fine condition.
2nd century BC-2nd century AD. An iconic Pagan sculpture securely dated to the Irish Celtic Period of 200 BC-200 AD, this large and imposing carved sandstone head was modelled from a substantial hemispherical boulder; the elegantly simplistic facial features comprise convex lentoid eyes flanking a rectangular flat nose, above a horizontal slit mouth with a suggestion of cheeks; the current owner, James Moore, has written about the various scholars that viewed it prior to his acquisition at auction: 'the head was viewed prior to the auction by many people experienced in these matters. They included Dr Patrick Wallace, director of the National Museum of Ireland and his staff; Dr Richard Warner former director of the Ulster Museum; eminent archaeologist and author Dr Peter Harrison; Professor Etienne Rynne, author of Celtic Stone Idols in Ireland in the Iron Age in the Irish Sea Province (available on the web"). All of the above gave favourable opinions, concurring with Dr Lacy's view. I have in my possession an exhibition catalogue of Celtic stone sculpture with an introduction by Martin Retch held by Karsten Schubert & Rupert Wace Ancient Art Ltd. in London 1989. There were eleven stone heads in this exhibition but in my opinion none of them had the qualities / provenance of the Ballyarton Head'; provided with a custom-made iron hoop stand for display. See Ross, A. Pagan Celtic Britain, London, 1967 for overview of the iconography of pre-Christian Britain and Ireland; Rynne. E. Figures from the Past, Studies on Figurative Art in Christian Ireland in Honour of Helen M. Roe, Dublin, 1987. 63 kg, 46 x 36cm including stand (18 x 14"). From the private collection of James Moore; acquired from Whyte’s Auctions 23 April 2010, lot 1 (front cover piece); formerly the property of Mr Pinkerton, Castlerock, County Derry; found by his father in the 1930s while repairing a stone wall in the Ballyarton Area of Claudy in the Sperrin Mountains, County Derry, Northern Ireland; accompanied by: a hand-written letter of the owner discussing the piece and its history; a copy of the relevant Whyte’s Auction catalogue pages with report by Kenneth Wiggins (MIAI, BA and an MPhil in archaeology), archaeologist and author; an original copy of an article on the item in the Irish Times newspaper (dated 1 May 2010); an original photograph of the head by Pinkerton when sited in his garden in 1976, inscribed as such to the reverse; original hand written correspondence with Dr Brian Lacy, Director of the Discovery Program and of The New University of Ulster, dating it to the period 200BC to 200AD (dated 29 July 1976), original signed correspondence with Craig McGuicken of the Heritage & Museum Service for Derry City Council requesting a loan of the object for display at the Tower Museum (affiliated to the Ulster Museum of N. Ireland); and with an orginal letter from Matt Seaver of the Irish Antiquities Division, National Museum of Ireland, dated 8 November 2019, showing interest in acquiring the head but suggesting that it be offered to the Ulster Museum first who were under-bidders in 2010. The subject of the iconography of pre-Christian stone heads is explored in Ross (1967, p.115ff) alongside the difficulty of establishing accurate dating for this artefact type. Stylistically, the Irish group of stone heads demonstrate a simplicity and economy of line which suggest an origin in the Iron Age (Rynne, 1987"). Professor Rynne is one of the 'many people experienced in these matters' who had the opportunity to view the head before the Whyte's auction in 2010, alongside Dr. Patrick Wallace (director, National Museum of Ireland), Dr. Richard Warner (former director of the Ulster Museum) and Dr. Peter Harbison, the eminent archaeologist. The opinion of this group agreed with that of a previous researcher, Dr. Brian Lacy, who wrote to the then owner of the piece in 1976 that '[t]hese heads normally occur in craft schools and on the basis of this example [and another from Alla townland nearby] it may be possible to identify a 'school' in the Claudy area.' It was Lacy who suggested a date range '200 BC to 200 AD' for the head. Professor Ian Armit has written several books and papers on the significance of the 'severed head' motif in Celtic (Iron Age) culture. In Death, decapitation and display? The Bronze and Iron Age human remains from the Sculptor's Cave, Covesea, north-east Scotland, Cambridge, 2011; and later in Headhunting and the Body in Iron Age Europe, Cambridge, 2012, he demonstrates that the human head carried symbolic associations with power, fertility, gender, and other social factors in the context of the Iron Age in Europe. The range of evidence for beheading and the subsequent curation and display of severed heads includes classical literary references, vernacular iconography and the physical, skeletal remains of the victims of this custom. The idea has arisen of a head-cult extending across most of Continental Europe and the islands of the North Atlantic including the British Isles. This notion is in turn used to support the idea of a unified and monolithic 'Celtic culture' in prehistory. However, head-veneration was seemingly practised across a range of Bronze Age and Iron Age societies and is not necessarily linked directly to the practice of head-hunting (i.e. curation of physical human remains"). The relations between the wielders of political power, religious authority and physical violence were more nuanced than a simple reading of the literary and physical evidence would suggest. The stone heads of Ireland are an enduring expression of this strong association between the human body and the numinous powers of the intellect. Fine condition. An important Irish antiquity, of a type very rarely in private ownership.
8th-4th century BC. A bronze lance head with hollow midrib and lanceolate blade; believed to be one of the largest British examples of the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age ever found; some wood still inside socket and traces of ancient repair around neck of socket. Cf. Evans, J. The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain and Ireland, London, 1881, item 378 for type. 420 grams, 38.5cm (15 1/4"). The Chris Rudd collection, Norfolk, UK; formed since the 1970s; found near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK, c. 2015; accompanied by Chris Rudd collector's ticket for item BA25, and various offprints and a communication from the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS"). Chris Rudd says: 'Hafts were usually proportionate in length to the size of the lance-head; so one might surmise a total length of about seven feet for this lance. I call it a ‘lance’ rather than a spear or javelin, because I fancy it would have been too long and unwieldy as a throwing spear. Ideal however to be carried on horseback, as illustrated by the late iron age cavalryman seen on a Catuvellaunian silver coin of Tasciovanos (ABC 2640), issued 20BC-AD10. Milton Keynes, Bucks., where this colossal lance-head was found, was formerly within the territory of the Catuvellauni whose name means ‘Men who Excel in Battle’. Reported to Bucks FLO, Arwen Wood, also Brett Thorn and Tabatha Barton of Bucks County Museum.' Very fine condition. Extremely rare in this size.
Early 5th century AD. A substantial gold Keller type 6 crossbow brooch, decorated with seven red garnets; with hollow pentagonal-section crossbar, three eight-sided finials, openwork scrolled plaques flanking the deep kidney-shaped section bow, tubular footplate with openwork scooped edges; hinged pin and V-section catchplate to the reverse closed with a mounting in red garnet; the bow ornamented with three mountings of garnets on each side in cloisonné style, and decorated for all its length on the central rib by an imitation-pearl pattern, also visible on the beaded collars of the three eight-sided finials; original pin still in place. See Brunšmid, V., Kameni Spomenici Hrvatskoga Narodnoga Muzeja u Zagrebu (Gravestone monuments in the National Croatian Museum of Zagreb), in Vjesnik Hrvatskoga Arheoloskoga drustva, X, 1910; Levi Pisetzky, R.,Storia del costume in Italia, 5 voll., Milano, 1964-1969; Keller, E., Die Spätrömische Grabfunde in Südbayern, Munchener Beitrage zur Vor-und Frühgeschichte 14, Munchen, 1971; Arrhenius, B., Merovingian Garnet Jewellery, Göteborg, 1985; Hattatt, R. Iron Age and Roman Brooches, Oxford, 1985, item 507 for type; Beck, H. et al. Fibel und Fibeltracht, Berlin, 2000, fig.114 (2), 115(7); Schach Dörges, H. Züsammengespulte und vermengte Menschen’ in Archäeologischen Landesmuseum Baden-Wurttemberg, Die Alamannen Stuttgart, 2001, pp.79-102; Martin, M., Alamannen in Römische Heer’in Archäeologischen Landesmuseum Baden-Wurttemberg, Die Alamannen Stuttgart, 2001, pp.119-124; Mackreth, D.F., Brooches in Late Iron Age and Roman Britain, 2 volumes, Oxford, 2011; the item can be dated at the 5th century for analogies with similar brooches (Keller type 6, 1971, p.53), like three samples published by Mackreth (2011, cat.3.6, pl.142); these fibulae show a development on earlier types, consisting of a pin secured by another means to ensure that the brooch could not fall or be pulled off without considerable force; Mackreth references a gold specimen from the Moray Firth. The brooch is of remarkable quality and technical accomplishment, both in its manufacture and in the working of the gems. This kind of fibula, well known as a 'crossbow brooch', was used by the Roman army from the last quarter of the third century until the sixth century AD. It was a signifier of military status, and simpler specimens in bronze are often found in the graves of soldiers from the 4th and 5th century AD. More precious specimens, in gold or gilt, such as this example, were reserved for officers. 38.33 grams, 80mm (3"). Property of a Spanish collector; acquired from an old Spanish collection, 2008; accompanied by an academic report by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato. The brooch is of remarkable quality and technical accomplishment, both in its manufacture and in the cutting of the gemstones into angular pyramidal forms. This kind of fibula, well know as a 'crossbow brooch', was in use within the Roman army from the last quarter of the third century until the sixth century AD. It was an attribute of military status and simpler specimens in bronze are often found in the graves of soldiers of the 4th and 5th century AD. More precious specimens, in gold or gilded, such as this example were reserved for officers. Very fine condition. Rare.
7th-6th century BC. An exceptionally well preserved bronze combat helmet of Archaic Corinthian type, with high bowl made from two separate metal sheets with a protruding neck protection; large eye openings, and arched enveloping cheek pieces; with a long, rivetted, slightly outward projecting nose protection; around the edges of the eyebrows and nose-guard are regularly spaced holes with decorative round-headed rivets for the attachment of the inner padding; an ancient repair hole visible over the left eyebrow; trace of a battle blow on the back of the skull; mounted on a custom-made display stand. See Holloway, R.R., Satrianum; the archaeological investigations conducted by Brown University in 1966 and 1967, Brown University Press, 1970; Bottini, A., Egg. M., Von Hase F. W., Pflug H., Schaaf U., Schauer P., Waurick G.,Antike Helme, Sammlung Lipperheide und andere Bestände des Antikenmuseums Berlin, Mainz, 1988; Museo Nazionale del Melfese, Nuovi rinvenimenti nell’area del Melfese. Soprintendenza Archeologica della Basilicata, Melfi, 1996; D’Amato R., Salimbeti A., Bronze Age Greek Warrior, 1600-1100 BC, Oxford, 2011; D’Amato R., Salimbeti A., Early Iron Age Greek Warrior, 1100-700 BC, Oxford, 2016; similar helmets from Torre di Satriano e Benevento (Bottini, Egg, Von Hase, Pflug, Schaaf, Schauer, Waurick, 1988, p.72, fig.7, cat.14 p.392) and Melfi (Museo Nazionale del Melfese, 1996, p.4"). 870 grams, height 22.5cm (8 3/4"). From a private English collection in 2001; acquired from Frank Sternberg, Zurich, Germany in 1993; previously in a 1980s Israeli collection; accompanied by an academic report by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato; a copy of the 2001 invoice and an Art Loss Register certificate no. S00156427.Widespread in the seventh and sixth century BC, the Corinthian helmet provided maximum protection with its nasal and its broad cheek plates. Herodotus mentions the Corinthian helmet in his Histories (4.180) when writing of the Machlyes and Auseans, two tribes living along the River Triton in ancient Libya. The tribes chose annually two teams of the fairest maidens who fought each other ceremonially with sticks and stones. They were dressed in the finest Greek panoply topped off with a Corinthian helmet. The ritual fight was part of a festival honoring the virgin goddess Athena. Young women who succumbed to their wounds during the ordeal were thought to have been punished by the goddess for lying about their virginity. The Corinthian helmet was the most popular during the Archaic and early Classical periods, with the style gradually giving way to the more open Thracian helmet, Chalcidian helmet and the much simpler pilos type, which was less expensive to manufacture and did not obstruct the wearer's critical senses of vision and hearing as the Corinthian helmet did. Numerous examples of Corinthian helmets have been excavated, and they are frequently depicted on pottery. The Corinthian helmet was depicted on more sculpture than any other helmet; it seems the Greeks romantically associated it with glory and the past. The Romans also revered it, from copies of Greek originals to sculpture of their own. Based on the sparse pictorial evidence of the republican Roman army, in Italy the Corinthian helmet evolved into a jockey-cap style helmet called the Italo-Corinthian, Etrusco-Corinthian or Apulo-Corinthian helmet, with the characteristic nose guard and eye slits becoming mere decorations on its face. Given many Roman appropriations of ancient Greek ideas, this change was probably inspired by the 'over-the-forehead' position common in Greek art. This helmet remained in use well into the 1st century AD. Excellent condition, complete. An extremely rare early type.
2nd millennium BC. A bronze dagger with lentoid-section leaf-shaped blade, double-waisted grip with transverse ribbed collars, the pommel formed as two crescentic lobes with a domed boss to the centre of each face. See Khorasani, M.M. Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006 for discussion. 315 grams, 33cm (13"). Property of a North London gentleman; acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Fair condition.
Middle Bronze Age, 1400-1150 BC. A complete palstave axehead from the Manston hoard pit deposit being one of the best examples in the hoard; triangular flanges rise from the butt to the stop bar; below the septum a hollow to both faces; narrow body expanding to a wide triangular blade with slight flare at the tips. See Evans, John, The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain and Ireland, London, 1881, pp.76-84 and figs.56-68 for similar types. See Portable Antiquities Scheme, reference PAS KENT-495597 (this find"). 475 grams, 18cm (7"). Found near Manston, Kent, UK, 2016; accompanied by copies of the British Museum PAS report number KENT-495597, and Treasure Act documentation under Treasure Reference 2016 T618. Fine condition. A rare opportunity to acquire a British Bronze Age axe from a recorded treasure hoard.
8th-9th century AD. A bronze lozengiform strap end with beast-head finial, applied silver panels with niello-filled La Tène-style Hiberno-Saxon ornament. Cf. Thomas, G. Late Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age Strap-Ends 750-1100: Part 1, Finds Research Group datasheet 32, Sleaford, 2007, item 1 for type. 8.4 grams, 46mm (1 3/4"). Formerly from the collection of Maurice Braham in the 1980s. Fine condition.
12th-10th century BC. A bronze Troy type sword or rapier blade, leaf-shaped in plan; the midrib extending to the short tang with curved lateral extensions to the shoulders, tang with flattened finial to accept the hilt. Cf. Branigan, K. Aegean Metalwork of the Early and Middle Bronze Age, Oxford, 1974, pl.11, item 483 ascribed to Troy (Anatolian Troad"). 391 grams, 54.5cm (21 1/2"). Property of a North West London gallery; formerly in a 1980s collection. Fine condition.
2nd-1st century BC. A bronze fitting comprising a lobed base with attachment loop below, standing figure of a centaur with curved club resting on the shoulder, left foreleg raised and supported on a spigot, curved triangular-section arch connected to the rump terminating in a crescent over the figure's head; mounted on a custom-made stand, possibly a chariot fitting. See Langdon, S. Art and Identity in Dark Age Greece, 1100-700 BCE, Cambridge University Press, 2008; statuettes of centaur are visible in the Greek Art since the 8th century BC (Metropolitan Museum inventory number 17.190.2072) and continued in the Archaic (statuette of a centaur in Princeton Museum, 530 BC) and Hellenistic world. 414 grams total, 22.5cm with stand (9").Property of a London gentleman; previously acquired on the UK art market in the 1990s.The first attested image of a centaur dates from the 10th century, from Lefkandi, possibly representing Chiron, who trained the heroes Heracles and Achilles. By the 8th century BC, centaurs, typically represented on pottery, were shown in wild areas, existing between civilisation and the natural world. There is no known representation of a centaur engaged in combat or violence. Susan Langdon argues that these Attic centaurs show 'positive masculine traits', as they were creatures which trained young boys to be men (Langdon 2008, p.106").Fine condition.
Circa 1350 AD. A gilded sheet-silver double-cup or doppelkopf comprising two shallow bowls with rims designed to lock together and each with a curved ledge handle forming a loop upon closure; the lower cup being slightly smaller than the upper, featuring a tiered foot with carinated profile and gilt beaded rim, inset roundel to the underside with similar gilt and beaded rim and low-relief engraved scene depicting a robed lady (perhaps representing Eve in the Garden of Eden?) kneeling on her right knee to pick one of two sprays of flowers in a dense foliage field, her left hand resting on the raised left knee; the handle a curved rectangular tab with gilt incised borders; the upper cup similar in form with indented roundel to the centre, lacking the applied foot, and beaded band to the shoulder. Eight other examples of this object type are known to exist all dating to the 14th century: one held at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; one held at the Metropolitan Museum, New York, being part of the Cloisters collection acquired in 1983; one part of the Lingenfeld Treasure, unearthed 1894 and now in the Historisches Museum der Pfatz, Speyer; one part of the Colmar Treasure, found 1863, and now held at the Musée de Cluny, Alsace; one discovered in the garden of the Seedorf Convent, found 1606, and now held at the Historisches Museum, Basel; one as part of the Erfurt Treasure, unearthed 1998, and held at the Erfurt Synagogue; one held at the National Museum, Zurich, and the last example held at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, acquired in 1960; see Treasures of the Black Death exhibition catalogue, p.72-3; also Meyer, G. L'Orfèvrerie médiévale au musée d'Unterlinden à Colmar, Cahiers alsaciens d'archéologie, d'art et d'histoire, vol.XXIV, 1981; Fritz, J.M. Goldschmiedekunst der Gotik in Mitteleuropa, Munich, 1982; Taburet-Delahaye, E. L'Orfèvrerie gothique, XIIIe-XVe siècle au musée de Cluny, Paris, 1989; and Taburet-Delahaye, E. Les Bijoux du trésor de Colmar in Le Trésor de Colmar, Paris, 1999. 385 grams total, 13.5cm each (5 1/4"). Property of a London collector; found in a gravel pit near to the River Danube, at Donauwoerth, Western Bavaria, in the 1960s; accompanied by an academic report and photographs, plus images of the other eight examples known; three found as part of treasures, and all held in museum collections. The doppelkopf is a pair of vessels which fit together so that the upper serves as a cover during storage and as a second drinking vessel when removed. It is a specific type of vessel which is known to have come into use in the 14th century. The place in which they were manufactured is presently uncertain but the majority of known surviving examples were discovered in the Rhineland and Switzerland. Examples were present in both the Erfurt and Colmar treasures dating from the early 14th century. It is understood that the format of two open shallow vessels forming an enclosed space may have been copied from wooden exemplars and others in more exotic materials such as ostrich eggs or coconuts. There are illustrations of the wooden forms from Freiburg in Brisgau in Taburet-Delahaye (1999"). The significance of the specific form of the vessel derives from the importance in medieval Germanic culture of taking strong drink in the making of celebrations (toasts) and the customs and rituals surrounding these celebrations and amuletic (even supernatural) powers ascribed to them. The custom of Minnetrinken in which commemorative celebrations were made to invoke the memory of dead family members and loved ones, was especially associated with weddings with the fictive inclusion of the dead 'ancestors' of both families as witnesses to the matrimonial act. In this connection, these cups appear to be connected specially with Jewish weddings where two drinks of wine are taken as part of the ceremony of blessing. In Christian contexts, the list of persons celebrated could be extended to saints, martyrs, Christ and the Virgin Mary - not always approved or sanctioned by the ecclesiastical authorities but firmly entrenched in secular custom and folklore. Over time, the church came to accept the custom of Johannesminne in honour of St. John the Evangelist. The double-cups can never have been numerous and indeed only a handful are known to survive; all but the present example being in museum collections. The circumstances of its discovery are intriguing: it was recovered in the 1960s from a gravel pit near the town of Donauwerth, western Bavaria, near the banks of the River Danube. The pit held many finds which were duly preserved by the landowners, including from Bronze Age down to Roman artefacts of bronze and iron with a smaller quantity of medieval items suggesting that the pit area was in use over many centuries (indeed, millennia) either as a place of deliberate deposition or perhaps a location where a difficult river crossing made casual loss unavoidable. The town of Donauwerth stands at the junction of the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz. A riverine trading port, the town became the last call for ships travelling inland from eastern Europe and Vienna. Its near neighbour is the city of Augsburg, which was granted the status of a Free Imperial City in 1276. Originally a Swabian settlement, political power in Donauwerth was held by the dukes of Upper Bavaria in the mid-13th century and in the 14th century, Donauwerth was made an imperial city. It adopted the Reformation in 1555. [2] Fair condition. Excessively rare, all other known examples held in museum collections.
8th-7th century BC. A long sword with double-edged iron lentoid-section blade, bronze hilt with scooped lower guard, three beaded collars, crescentic pommel with lobe finials and raised knop to the upper face; traces of mineralised wooden scabbard present, especially near tip of blade. Cf. Khorasani, M.M. Arms and Armour from Iran. The Bronze Age to the End of the Qajar Period, Tübingen, 2006, item 19. 1.1 kg, 77cm (30 1/4"). Property of a North West London gentleman; formerly with a central London gallery in 1990. Fine condition; blade conserved. A rare type.
11th century AD. A gilt-bronze Ringerike style 'Great Beast' finial for a Viking longship weathervane formed as a standing quadruped with scrolls to the hips and shoulders, raised head with piriform eye; rivetted at the feet to a fragment of a rectangular panel For ship-vanes of Ringerike style see Graham-Campbell, J. Viking Art, London, 2013, items 138-140; for a discussion of Viking-period weather vanes and their re-use as badges of nobility in Normandy, see Engström, J. & Nykänen, P. New Interpretations of Viking Age Weathervanes, in Fornvännen, vol.91, 1996; Lindgrén, S. Viking Weather-Vane Practices in Medieval France in Fornvännen, vol.91, 1996 and Lindgrén, S. Viking Weather-Vane Practices in Medieval France in Fornvännen, vol.78, 1983. 147 grams, 70mm (2 3/4"). From a London W1, UK, collection; acquired on the German art market before 2000. The navigation techniques in use in Iron Age Northern Europe were very sophisticated, as would be expected from people bordering the Baltic, North Sea and North Atlantic where boat- and ship-building traditions have been perfected over more than a thousand years. A carved wooden panel from Bergen, Norway, shows a number of Viking longships at sea, some with weathervanes mounted on the stempost. They are mounted vertically with the beast on the outer end. Gilded bronze weathervanes appear on the roofs of medieval churches in Sweden, Norway and Finland where they are often regarded as ornamental: symbols of access to resources and craftsmanship for the important families who endowed such buildings. These weathervanes in many cases originally adorned ships and were used as part of the navigational equipment. They may have inspired the medieval Norman custom of attaching a gilded weathervane or cock to church roofs, which eventually spread to secular buildings such as castles in France and Italy where their use was restricted to certain ranks of nobility (Lindgrén, 1983"). Weathervanes were used for determining the strength and direction of the wind, in conjunction with the sólarsteinn (sunstone) Icelandic feldspar which polarises sunlight and allows the sun's position to be determined in overcast conditions. A wooden bearing-dial fragment was found in Greenland - a destination colonised by Icelanders in the 11th century - with the 'horizon' divided into 32 sectors. This would give an accuracy of about 11 degrees per sector, which would make landfall using latitude sailing a straightforward matter. Engström & Nykänen (1996) suggested that the vanes were decorated with holes or markers on the outer edge which enabled the helmsman to make an assessment of the sun's height from the position and length of the shadow, and thus to work out his position by rule of thumb. These holes may have been used to attach streamers as a visual aid. The ships equipped with these weathervanes may have been the 'flagships' of their fleets, taking the lead in navigation and in manoeuvring. The dragon on the weathervane may thus have signified the position of the fleet's leader, and may even have given rise to the name drakka (dragon) for the largest type of Viking period ship. Fine condition. Extremely rare.
Mid 12th-8th century BC. A British triple-banded gold 'ring money' from the late Bronze Age, a composite Collar-Type ring comprising three conjoined bands. Cf. Taylor, J.T. Bronze Age Goldwork of the British Isles, Cambridge, 1980, pl.30h (which was found at Granta Fen, Ely, Cambs) and 34d and 34e. 2.89 grams, 14mm (1/2"). The Chris Rudd collection, Norfolk, UK; formed since the 1970s; previously in an Isle of Man collection; formerly in the Shamrock collection; found near Foxton, Cambridgeshire, UK, 28 October 1992; accompanied by Chris Rudd collector's notes and ticket for item BA27, and an offprint on Bronze Age goldwork of the British Isles by Joan J. Taylor. Chris Rudd says: 'Though primarily made as a piece of jewellery – almost certainly a tress-ring in this instance – such rings probably had a secondary purpose too, as a convenient method of portable wealth storage. In that sense one might justifiably regard these items as a form of primitive pre-coinage money, though today’s archaeologists are keen that we refer to them as ‘penannular rings’ rather than ‘ring money’.' Very fine condition. Extremely rare.
Middle Bronze Age, 1400-1150 BC. A complete palstave axehead from the Manston hoard pit deposit being one of the best examples in the hoard; triangular flanges rise from the butt to the stop bar; below the stop bar to both faces, a depression with a design comprising three raised lines within a raised shield outline; narrow body expanding to a wide triangular blade with slight flare at the tips. See Evans, John, The Ancient Bronze Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain and Ireland, London, 1881, pp. 76-84 and figs.56-68 for similar types. See Portable Antiquities Scheme, reference PAS KENT-495597 (this find"). 455 grams, 16.7cm (6 1/2"). Found near Manston, Kent, UK, 2016; accompanied by copies of the British Museum PAS report number KENT-495597, and Treasure Act documentation under Treasure Reference 2016 T618. Fine condition. A rare opportunity to acquire a British Bronze Age axe from a recorded treasure hoard.
Late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC. A carved pink limestone columnar idol with waisted body, transverse slot to each flat face. Cf. Pottier, M. H., Matériel funéraire de la Bactriane méridonale de L' Age du Bronze, Mémoire, Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations, 36, p.16, pl.V, nos.34-5 for two virtually identical lingams called 'masses d'arme', and p.43, pl.XXXV, nos.292-3 for similar yoni; also, Schmidt, E. F., Tepe Hissar Excavations, 1931, The Museum Journal, XXIII, no.4, 1933, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, pl.CXXXVI. 12.4 kg, 36cm (14"). Private collection, South West London; acquired before 2000. Fine condition.
Late 3rd-early 2nd millennium BC. A carved marble(?) columnar idol with transverse slot to each face. Cf. Pottier, M. H., Matériel funéraire de la Bactriane méridonale de L' Age du Bronze, Mémoire, Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations, 36, p.16, pl.V, nos.34-5 for two virtually identical lingams called 'masses d'arme', and p.43, pl.XXXV, nos.292-3 for similar yoni; also, Schmidt, E. F., Tepe Hissar Excavations, 1931, The Museum Journal, XXIII, no.4, 1933, The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, pl.CXXXVI. 6.3 kg, 19.3cm (7 1/2"). Property of a North London gentleman; previously with Pars Gallery, London, W1; in the 1990s. [No Reserve] Fine condition.
A CHINESE BRONZE CENSER AND COVER, QING DYNASTY, LATE 19TH CENTURY The rectangular censer with tapering sides, raised on four lion-mask feet, the sides chased with peony blooms, the removable lid pierced with two Ruji-shaped apertures surmounted by a Fu-dog finial, tarnishing, age wear, handles lacking18,5cm high by 14cm wide
WALTER ROCHE (1847-1921) a pair of 19th century bronze equine studies with riders up; each signed and dated 1883 rear corner and each raised on shaped rectangular wooden plinth base, the wooden bases (31.5cm x 32cm high (to tip of jockey's cap)) The Auctioneer states that the Provenance is good – this has been in the same family for many years. As expected the shaped oak plinth bases has a number of scratches and scuffs commensurate with age. Each bronze is dated W Roche and dated 1883 at the back. Please see closer images. The condition of the first horse is good – no major repairs or problems. Nice colour and patination – you can see the vein detail on the horse’s neck. The second horse looks like he is holding a crop which looks very short which leads the Auctioneer to suggest that a piece may be missing and also it may have had reins originally but these seem to be missing – the rest of this horse seems to be in good overall condition. Rather dusty but no major problems noted or restorations etc.
A good bronze scale model of HMS Victory's middle-gun-deck 24-pounder cannon; the heavy bronze cannon (approx. 1.3 kg and 26cm in length) mounted on its original wooden carriage stands with ramrod, 7 lead cannonballs and tackle on a (probably 19th century) slatted patinated maple platform in the form of the Victory's oak gundeck with fixed 11-ball magazine. The 38cm x 24.5cm platform with plaque reading: Scale model of middle deck 24 pndr. H.M.S. Victory 1765It is not known if this is a working model although the touch hole goes right in to the barrel bottom. The rod goes in by 10.5cms and meets spongey resistance. The cannon is very dark and has a good overall patination and some very minor scratches and pitting marks although nothing to be concerned about. The oak carriage looks fairly good overall. There is an amount of rigging etc., together with a single ramrob and seven “cannon balls” (four missing from cannon ball rack at front). The items come privately. The deck on which the cannon support has bowed presumably with the wood shrinking across the grain and this is commensurate with age. It also has some scratches and minor discolouration. Generally in good overall condition.
The London 1908 Olympics Games Competitor badge of William James "Bill" Bailey, numbered verso '1360'; together with his Berlin 1936 XI Olympiade badge with 'Rad-rennen' ribbon, numbered 3598 in black enamel; and London 1948 XIV Olympiad 'Team Manager' badge and ribbon; together with Cycling's Championnats du Monde, Zurich 1946 UCI delegates badge on lapel ribbon, and accompanying bronzed badge from the same event, both cast by Paul Kramer, Neuchatel; other enamelled lapel badges including World's Cycling Championship Trials, Brooklands, 'The Bicycle' magazine lapel badge, two enamelled cycling tie-pins, and his First World War service medals and miniatures, named as 'M2-134470 W. O. CL.11. W. J. Bailey A.S.C.'Footnote: William James 'Bill' Bailey (6 April 1888 – 12 February 1971) was a World renowned sprint and road cyclist in the early 20th century. As an amateur at the age of 20 he competed in the 1908 London Olympics in the Men's Sprint (Heat 7) and Men's 5,000m (Semi-final 1) events, but failed to reach the Finals in either event. Undeterred, the following year he went on to win the national sprint title in 1909, 1912 and 1913, as well as the World sprint titles in 1909-1911 and 1913. He was the victor of Europe's leading sprint event the Grand Prix de Paris in four consecutive years 1910-1913. In 1914 he turned professional, but the outbreak of War saw him join and serve in the Army Service Corps. He resumed his cycling career in 1920 when he won bronze medal in the track sprint event at the UCI World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. He remained a professional racer throughout the 1920s and set a British record in 1928 for the half-mile standing start at the age of 40. After his racing career Bill Bailey became heavily involved in coaching and cycling event management. Although acknowledged to have helped the British team in the 1928 Olympics, the medals here for the Berlin and London Olympiads of 1936 and 1948 suggest he was still a principal figure in British cycling throughout the mid-century. He raced around the World and was arguably more well known abroad as he was on British soil. A well known figure in America, he organised race meets at the banked Brooklands circuit, and the American fan base would even be heard singing "Won't you go home Bill Bailey"! He was also a founder of The Bicycle magazine in 1936, and seemingly a UCI delegate for the 1946 World Championships held in Zurich.
A superb pair of art nouveau figurative vases by top Austrian factory Bernhard Bloch. Designed and modelled by Theodore Schoop. Circa 1900. Large impressive pair at 36cm heigh X 18cm diameter at the base. Beautifully decorated with insects and flowers with a Belle Époque maiden swooping around each vase. Typical Austrian, dull bronze gilding. Stamped with factory marks to base and signed by the artist on one vase. No damage, a little age related wear to the gilding.
Japanese Antique Samurai Edo - Period Katana Tsuba of Large Size, Soten Kinko - Sukashi Mokka Gata Shape, Inlaid on Both Sides with a Sage Feeding a Monkey, Picked Out In Silver and Bronze Highlights, Worn Consistent with Age and Use, Fully Signed by the Japanese Maker - Please See Photos. Size 3.5 x 3 Inches.
FRENCH AMBOYNA AND GILT BRONZE PENDULE D'OFFICIER 19TH CENTURY the white enamel Roman numeral dial with Arabic seconds markers and two winding holes, in an arch case with pagoda top outlined with gilt bronze moulding, flower heads, and surmounted by a tied laurel garland and serpent loop handle, raised on toupie feet; the movement numbered 9750 and striking a bell (Dimensions: 15cm wide, 28cm high (handle up), 10.5cm deep)(15cm wide, 28cm high (handle up), 10.5cm deep)Condition report: Lyon & Turnbull does not guarantee any clock to be in working order. Condition reports are supplied on general appearance and condition and are not completed by professional clock restorers. Please see our Conditions of Sale for Buyers, item 12(2) for additional information on the purchase of clocks, timepieces and mechanical instruments. overall good general appearance and condition for age we have had the movement running but some work may need to be done to it the snake handle is slightly bent on one side the case is generally good and veneers are good with some light wear and nibbles to some of the edges mounts are all present although some of the gilding has worn off and colour is a bit dark the dial is in good order and clean and bright with a winder
Very Rare Personal Letter Written by Reinhard Heydrich to Reichsfuhrer-SS Heinrich Himmler Regarding Polish Resistance Operations, the letter is on Heydrich’s official office headed paper, “Der Chef der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD” and is dated 12.Marz 1941. The five paragraphed typed letter is regarding the investigation carried out by the German secret police into the sabotage actions of Polish resistance groups, the document also mentions the good work carried out by SS-Brigadefuhrer Muller, he goes on to tell Himmler that it will not be long before they break the Polish resistance group. The bottom of the letter has an original ink signature of Reinhard Heydrich and also a stamp with a annotated signature indicating that the letter had been read by Himmler. It is very rare to find original correspondence from Reinhard Heydrich, so to find one that was written to the head of the SS is even more rare. Punch holes to the document and various stamps. A extremely rare and historical document. SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heydrich is considered to be one of the most evil men of the Nazi system. He was given various nicknames over the years including “the man with the iron heart” by Adolf Hitler, “butcherer of Prague” and “the hangman”. Heydrich served in the German Reichsmarine before being dismissed due to “Conduct unbecoming to an officer and gentleman". He joined the SS on 14th July 1931. Himmler wanted to set up an intelligence agency within the SS and Heydrich was soon appointed in this role. Heydrich and his unit were responsible for many of the early persecutions carried out by the Nazi’s. When war broke out, he was very anti-Polish, and was keen to make sure that Poland suffered. In 1941 he was appointed Acting Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia (Czechoslovakia). Heydrich terrified the Czech nationals, with 142 Czech’s executed within 5 days of his arrival in Prague. Heydrich is considered to be the main architect of the Holocaust. He was one of the main organisers of the Kristallnacht programme. In the meeting by the RSHA in Prague, in 1941, where the “Final Solution” was discussed and masterminded, Heydrich was the highest ranking officer. Heydrich was placed in charge of the “Final Solution of the Jewish question”. As well as serving with the SS, Reinhard Heydrich also served with the Luftwaffe, flying nearly 100 combat missions, it was on a mission over the Eastern Front that his plane was hit by Soviet Anti-Aircraft fire and he had to make a emergency landing behind enemy lines. He managed to escape capture and Hitler ordered he come back to Berlin and continue service with the SS. He was awarded the Luftwaffe pilots badge, bronze and silver operational flying clasps. In London, the Czechoslovak government-in-exile decided that Heydrich had to be assassinated. Jan Kubiš and Jozef Gabčík headed the team chosen for the operation, trained by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). They returned to the Protectorate, parachuting from a Handley Page Halifax on 28 December 1941, where they lived in hiding, preparing for the mission. On 27 May 1942, Heydrich planned to meet Hitler in Berlin. Heydrich would have to pass a section where the Dresden-Prague road merges with a road to the Troja Bridge. The junction in the Prague suburb of Libeň was well suited for the attack because motorists have to slow for a hairpin bend. As Heydrich's car slowed, Gabčík took aim with a Sten submachine gun, but it jammed and failed to fire. Heydrich ordered his driver Klein to halt and attempted to confront the attackers, rather than having his driver speed away. Kubiš then threw a converted anti-tank mine at the rear of the car as it stopped. The explosion wounded both Heydrich and Kubiš. Heydrich ordered Klein to chase Gabčík on foot, and Gabčík shot Klein in the leg. Kubiš and Gabčík managed to escape the scene. A Czech woman went to Heydrich's aid and flagged down a delivery van. He was placed on his stomach in the back of the van and taken to the emergency room at Bulovka Hospital. He had suffered severe injuries to his left side, with major damage to his diaphragm, spleen, and one lung. A splenectomy was performed, and the chest wound, left lung, and diaphragm were all debrided. Himmler ordered Karl Gebhardt to fly to Prague to assume care. Despite a fever, Heydrich's recovery appeared to progress well. Hitler's personal doctor Theodor Morell suggested the use of the new antibacterial drug sulfonamide, but Gebhardt thought that Heydrich would recover and declined the suggestion. Heinrich Himmler visited Heydrich in hospital but Heydrich slipped into a coma after Himmler's visit and never regained consciousness. He died on 4 June; an autopsy concluded that he died of sepsis. Heydrich's assailants hid in safe houses and eventually took refuge in Ss. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral, an Orthodox church in Prague. After a traitor in the Czech resistance betrayed their location, the church was surrounded by 800 members of the SS and Gestapo. Several Czechs were killed, and the remainder hid in the church's crypt. The Germans attempted to flush the men out with gunfire, tear gas, and by flooding the crypt. Eventually an entrance was made using explosives. Rather than surrender, the soldiers killed themselves. Supporters of the assassins who were killed in the wake of these events included the church's leader, Bishop Gorazd, who is now revered as a martyr of the Orthodox Church. Adolf Hitler was so outraged at the assassination attempt and the eventual death of Heydrich, that he ordered the execution of 10,000 random Czech civilians, but was advised that this was not a good idea due to the Czech’s being responsible for much of the labour for the German war machine. on 10 June 1942, all males over the age of 16 in the villages of Lidice and Ležáky were murdered. All the women in Ležáky were also murdered. This was because it was believed that civilians in these towns were part of the resistance which helped plan the assassination.
WW2 Merchant Navy Mentioned in Despatches Medal Group of Four of Second Officer A M Chapman, Who Earned a Commendation for Returning to his Burning Ship MV Empire Spenser to Rescue Members of the Crew Trapped in the Ship, group consists of 1939-45 star, Atlantic star, Italy star and 1939-45 War medal with bronze MID Oak leaf. Medals are mounted for wear. The medals are accompanied by a quantity of original paperwork including the original MID certificate named to Second Officer Alleyne Milbanke Chapman. Alleyne Milbanke Chapman was born in Sunderland c.1913 and was educated at Argyle House School. Going to sea at the age of 16, he worked initially for the firm of Alan Black and later with the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company Ltd. In late 1942 he was Chief Officer of the M.V. Empire Spenser (Master John Barlow Hodge), a motor tanker of 8,194 tons. On the way back to Liverpool from New York, the ship was attacked by a U-Boat pack, a newspaper article which accompanies the group details the action and his gallantry, “Last December, about a thousand miles from the Irish coast, the convoy in which was Mr Chapman’s ship, was attacked by a pack of U-Boats, and his ship was torpedoed and caught fire. Many of the crew were trapped aft by the flames, and the master seriously injured. Boats were lowered and Mr Chapman took command of one of them, taking it to the rescue ship standing by. When the men of the rescue ship wanted to take over his boat, he refused to allow it and returned to the blazing shop to rescue the trapped men. Out of a crew of 58, only one man was lost”.
Ca. 1200- 800 BC. Superb Bronze Age axe combined in ax-adze with circular shaft hole; the transverse blade trapezoid with expanding cutting edge; the axial blade expanded with a slightly curved cutting edge, effective weapon. shaft decorated with sun symbols; Superb Condition, on custom stand 190 x 60 mm; 7.4803x2.3622 in; 861g; Provenance: Important estate collection from Oxfordshire; formed in the 1970s-2000.
Ca. 2000 BC.A lovely example of European Bronze Age weaponry. A cast sickle-blade with raised rear border to the upper surface, plain reverse; twisted terminal for hanging; Good condition, on a custom stand; 215 x 65 mm; 8.46455x2.55905 in; 255g; Provenance: Important estate collection from Oxfordshire; formed in the 1970s-2000.
CA.800 BC. Greek Archaic period (bronze Age) bronze short sword with tapering lentoid-section two-edged blade, crescentic lower guard, Ibex shaped handle designed to have an inlaid bone or ivory panel. Superb Condition; on a custom stand; From west Asia to Mainland Greece, bronze weaponry production flourished from the 2nd millennium BC to about 700BC when it was gradually replaced by iron. Swords, spears, and arrows were exchanged via trade and war and are discovered in both civic and ritual contexts. 475 x 55 mm; 18.70075x2.16535 in; 327g; Provenance: From an old British collection, acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s.
Ca. 2800 - 2300 BC. Rare bronze age Aegean, possibly Cycladic type blade. A large and well-formed bronze blade that rises in the center in a very gentle ridge and flattens out at twin sharp edges. A sturdy tang ending in a circular shape top its, cast in one piece with the blade with a wide blood channel running along the blade. Good Condition; From west Asia to Mainland Greece, bronze weaponry production flourished from the 2nd millennium BC to about 700BC when it was gradually replaced by iron. Swords, spears and arrows were exchanged via trade and war and are discovered in both civic and ritual contexts. 395 x 65 mm; 15.55115x2.55905 in; 344g; Provenance: Important London collection of Ancient art; formed in 1970s then passed by descent.
Ca. 1200 BC. Bronze Age, Luristan, decorated short sword with intact handle. A fine example of a lost wax cast bronze short sword with a narrow handle designed to have an inlaid bone or ivory panel. Blade with geometric pattern decoration close to handle. Superb Condition. From west Asia to Mainland Greece, bronze weaponry production flourished from the 2nd millennium BC to about 700BC when it was gradually replaced by iron. Swords, spears, and arrows were exchanged via trade and war and are discovered in both civic and ritual contexts. 425 mm; 16.73225 in; 324g; Provenance: From an old British collection, acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s.
Ca. 800 BC. Bronze Age Near Eastern decorated sword with intact handle. A fine example of a lost wax cast bronze sword with a narrow handle designed to have an inlaid bone or ivory panel. Blade with geometric pattern decoration close to handle. Superb Condition. ; From west Asia to Mainland Greece, bronze weaponry production flourished from the 2nd millennium BC to about 700BC when it was gradually replaced by iron. Swords, spears, and arrows were exchanged via trade and war and are discovered in both civic and ritual contexts. 355 mm; 13.97635 in; 169g; Provenance: From an old British collection, acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s.
Ca. 1200- 800BC. Superb Bronze Age axe. Combined in axe-adze with circular shaft hole; the transverse blade trapezoid with expanding cutting edge; the axial blade expanded with slightly curved cutting edge, effective weapon. Superb Condition, amazing blue patina. 145 x 45 mm; 5.70865x1.77165 in; 580g; Provenance: From an old British collection, acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s.
CA.800 BC. Greek Archaic period (bronze Age) bronze short sword with tapering lentoid-section two-edged blade, crescentic lower guard, Ibex shaped handle designed to have an inlaid bone or ivory panel. Superb Condition; From west Asia to Mainland Greece, bronze weaponry production flourished from the 2nd millennium BC to about 700BC when it was gradually replaced by iron. Swords, spears, and arrows were exchanged via trade and war and are discovered in both civic and ritual contexts. 410 x 60 mm; 16.1417x2.3622 in; 360g; Provenance: Important London collection of Ancient art; formed in 1970s then passed by descent.
A Chinese bronze censor, diameter 12.5 cm, together with a vase and plaque. CONDITION REPORT: One leg has been repaired and there are remnants of lead solder around it. The interior of the censor is very pitted and rusty. It is decorated with incised Feng and peony. The brass dish is very rubbed to the centre erasing most of the decoration. There are no obvious splits or cracks. The vase is decorated with a dragon, a Feng, auspicious objects and has two lion mask handles. It is of no significant age. It has a pseudo Xuande mark which has been polished and rubbed. There are no cracks, chips, dents or major obvious faults visible.
Japanese Antique Samurai Edo - Period Katana Tsuba of Large Size, Soten Kinko - Sukashi Mokka Gata Shape, Inlaid on Both Sides with a Sage Feeding a Monkey, Picked Out In Silver and Bronze Highlights, Worn Consistent with Age and Use, Fully Signed by the Japanese Maker - Please See Photos. Size 3.5 x 3 Inches.
Collection of Marvel bronze age no 1 comics including The Man Called Nova no 1, Marvel Chillers featuring Modred The Mystic no 1, Marvel Presents Bloodstone no 1 & 2, Ms. Marvel no 1, Dazzler no 1, Human Fly no 1, The Spider-Woman no 1, Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-man no 1, Marvel Tales Spider-Man no 100, plus What If Phoenix had not Died, What if Nova had been four other people, Marvel Two in one The Thing x5, Marvel Team up Annual 2, Dr Strange King Size annual no 1, Spider-man King size annual 13, and 3 more. Mostly in excellent condition. (24 comics)
Fine Quality Antique Sino-Tibetan Bronze Gilded Figure of a Chinese Deity sat on a Lotus throne with flowing robes, with fine jeweled adornments to his body, with a refined hair style surmounted by an ornate head-dress circa 17/18th Century, worn consistent with age. 6'' high, 4'' wide base. Please see images.
A Japanese Meiji period (1868-1912) bronze crocodile, in naturalistic prowling pose and perched upon a rock, h.12cm, length 27cm.Not signed.The naturalistic base is lacquered and appears consistent with age.Some general age wear throughout, dirt and dirt to crevices and relief areas.Otherwise no apparent faults.
A Burmese Small Dha Knife, with silver covered grip and scabbard; a Tibetan Bronzed Iron Phurba, with triangular section blade, the handle with pommel cast with the three faces of Vajrakila; a Bronze Age Style Short Sword, with inlaid blade; two Indian Brass Dhals, each of convex form with black and red enamelled decoration, 39cm and 28cm diameter (5)
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