A late 17th century Scottish analemmatic double sundial is among the highlights going under the hammer at Flints Auctions in Stoke Newington, London, on October 31-November 1.
Designed for a latitude that runs from Dundee in the east to north Argyll in the west, the 5 x 8in (13 x 20cm) dial comes complete in its original velvet-lined sharkskin case and with an antique manuscript page of instructions copied from Edmund Stone’s 1758 English translation of Nicholas Bion’s famous book, Construction and Principal Uses of Mathematical Instruments. Estimate £1800-2500.
Recently unearthed by a metal detectorist, this 2000-year old iron age gold stater above is one of only eight found with the legend RICOIN.
The coin dates from the reign of King Tasciovanos, who ruled the Catuvellauni of Hertfordshire around 25BC-10AD.
The usual legend found on such coins is TASCI RICON or RIGON, which means ‘Tasciovanos the high-king’. RICOIN is therefore thought to have been a mistake and is quite possibly the first time the word ‘coin’ appeared on a British coin. When rotated 45 degrees, it also features a stylised smiling face, possibly of a benevolent Celtic god.
It will be auctioned by Celtic coin specialist Chris Rudd in Aylsham on November 18. It is estimated at £4500 with a starting price of £3600.
London books dealership Maggs has compiled a collection of more than 70 items devoted to the slave trade and its abolition between 1690-1880.
The group is drawn from the US, England, France, Spain, Liberia and Ghana, and includes books, broadsides, prints and manuscripts.
A first edition copy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin Almanack or Abolitionist Memento, published a year after Harriet Beecher Stowe’s famous 1852 novel, is priced at £3750.
The work was published by John Cassell in London using illustrations by George Cruikshank (1792-1878) and opens with: “America is the stronghold of slavery. We have reason to believe that, if slavery were exterminated in America, it could immediately cease.”
A lot of ancient glass was designed for tableware use, in particular for carrying and serving water and wine at banquets. Jugs were one of the most frequently used containers and existed in various dimensions and shapes.
This 6in (16cm) high ancient Roman blown glass jug in light blue above is priced at £2760 from London antiquities dealership Ancient Art.
antiquities.co.uk
