Greek, Roman, Egyptian & Other Antiquities

“It had”, said the metal detectorist who found it, “been a wonderful Christmas present.”

Antiquities specialists Charles Ede of London and Contemporary New York gallery Sean Kelly share a stand at TEFAF Maastricht’s inaugural Focus section, which is aimed at presenting complementary works from different artists and disciplines.

Blue-glazed decoration thought to have been invented by king’s architect takes £55,000 at auction

One of the great masterpieces of ancient Greek numismatic art, this silver tetradrachm was struck in c.460BC in commemoration of the refounding of the city of Naxos. Its citizens had been exiled to Leontinoi by the tyrant Hieron of Syracuse.

Mithradates IV was ruler of the Hellenistic kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 169-150BC. He ushered in a period of relative friendship with the Roman republic that would continue until his grandson Mithradates VI (the Great) became its most formidable and determined opponent. Mithradates IV’s coinage draws attention to his Persian and Greek origins.

Spink posted a house record for a classical coin when it sold this Julius Caesar and Octavian gold aureus on April 3 for £220,000 plus 20% buyer’s premium against an estimate of £60,000-100,000.

This terracotta figure is typical of the highly stylised pottery models honouring a fertility or mother goddess, made in Persia in the first millennium BC.

Antiquities from the collection of famed works of art dealer Ernest Brummer (1891-1964) sold for a combined total of over $2m at Hindman (26/20/15% buyer’s premium) in Chicago.

An ancient Egyptian sculptural fragment was the most eagerly contested lot in Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ (20% buyer’s premium) Autumn Majestic sale on November 10-12.

The grandnephew of Parisian art and antiquities dealer Ernest Brummer (1891-1964) is parting with this second-century AD Roman marble head of a triton at Hindman in Chicago.

This Roman marble bust hammered for $47,500 (£39,100) against an estimate of $2000-3000 at Wiederseim Associates (25% buyer’s premium) in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania on October 20.

Antiquities specialist Charles Ede releases its online Christmas catalogue at noon on November 15.

In 1961 when Christie’s auctioned off items from the Wilton House Collection, the catalogue included a full-page image of a monumental Roman marble.