An Egyptian recumbent or Gemehesu falcon in granite – £950,000 at Christie’s South Kensington.
This time he secured an Egyptian falcon for a sale-topping £950,000.
Dating from the late period, the 17in (43cm) highly polished granite statue was in fine condition with clearly defined facial markings, long talons and a sharp beak. Bidding for the lot rapidly rose above the £100,000-150,000 estimate as auctioneer Hugh Edmeades accepted bids from two phones, Mr Katz and the book.
Both the falcon and the statue of Isis, the most expensive lot to sell at CSK to date, had been acquired in Alexandria by a French diplomat in the 1840s and had remained in the same family since.
Over at Bonhams, a Achaemenid glass philae topped their antiquities sale at £400,000 - eight times the top estimate.
