A case in point was an 83/4in (22cm) high spherical bodied Egyptian alabaster handled flask from 18th Dynasty. It had been purchased from the renowned D. David-Weill collection dispersed at Drouot in Paris in 1971. Here it doubled its estimate at £36,000.
The elderly anonymous European private vendor had formed the bulk of his collection in the 1970s buying from Parisian auctions and galleries and from leading dealers such as Herbert Cahn and Leo Mildenberg.
Like the animals from Mildenberg's personal collection, the figurative entries here attracted new private buyers as well as dealers and collectors. A new buyer bid ten times the estimate at £14,000 for a decorative and displayable 9in (23cm) wide Etruscan terracotta gorgoneion antefix, or architectural ornament.
The sale highlight was an Attic black-figure belly amphora (Type A) and lid in the manner of the Antimenes painter dating to c.520-510BC. It was bought from Mildenberg in 1971 and was remarkable for its large size. It stood 231/2in (60cm) high and had an unusual form with thick handles. A European dealer secured this classic Greek amphora on the telephone at £65,000.
Amongst the most sensuous entries was a 1st-2nd century AD. Graeco-Roman marble sculpture of Priapus embracing a Maenad. The sculpture had wonderful movement and was a perfect size to sit on a desk at 51/2in (13cm) high. It was a must-have for one European dealer who bid £16,000 for ownership.
