But in addition to many mainstream antiques, the June Olympia never fails to throw up some real showstoppers – and this year’s could well be this 3000-year-old Egyptian mummy, encased in a finely decorated wooden coffin and offered for around £180,000 by West London dealers Peter Petrou and Jay Arenski.
Almost certainly brought to Europe in the 19th century, the coffin dates from the late 21st/early 22nd Dynasty, some 350 years after the death of Tutankhamun.
Within the classic two-piece coffin the mummy has been partially unwrapped, an indignity possibly perpetrated when he first arrived here when apparently it was fashionable for gentlemen connoisseurs to invite their antiquarian chums around for such an unveiling.
The occupant is thought to have been a Priest of Amun at Thebes and one can only hope he has by now forgiven those who disturbed him. But without resorting to rising up and stalking the aisles, this mummy is sure to make a big impact at Olympia.
Olympia’s star turn
UK: NOTED for its wide variety of stock, there truly is something for everyone at all prices at the Summer Fine Art and Antiques Fair, which will be held at Olympia in West London from June 7 to 17.
