Apollo Art Auctions' July 24 Sale Features Magnificent Antiquities, Ancient and Asian Art

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Jul 15, 2022, 08:03 ET

500-lot auction features Egyptian 'sickle sword,' Imsety human-head canopic jar, Ancient Roman jewellery, Chalcidian helmets, medieval silver-gilt dish with niello lion, Sumerian pictograph tablet

LONDON, July 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A museum-quality selection of expertly appraised antiquities, ancient and Asian artworks, jewellery and weaponry will be offered by Apollo Art Auctions on Sunday, July 24, starting at 12 noon BST (7 a.m US Eastern Time). The 500-lot sale will be conducted live at Apollo's elegant London gallery, with international participation cordially welcomed via phone, absentee bid, or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

Ancient Greek bronze Chalcidian helmet, circa 400 B.C., forged in one piece with high-arched eyebrows below a peaked, raised band, and with a teardrop-shape nose guard. Similar to example in The Walters Art Museum collection. Provenance: private UK collection, acquired on German art market pre-2000. Accompanied by professional historical report from Ancient Report Specialists. Estimate £6,000-£9,000 ($7,215-$10,825)

Circa 3100-2900 B.C. Sumerian pictographic tablet whose cuneiform writing records an administrative account with entries of food supplies. Size: 44.8mm by 68.4mm, weight 62.44g. Provenance: passed by descent to family members of gentleman who died in 1988. Estimate £4,000-£8,000 ($4,810-$9,620)

The sale is divided into four sections encompassing a broad range of well provenanced artifacts from Europe, Egypt and the Near East, as well as many prized items from India and China. Bidders may choose from a wealth of unique treasures with provenance from such noted collections as those of Captain Magnus Julius Davidsen, Alison Barker, and John Lee – all names of great distinction in the realm of antiquities. All pieces chosen for the auction have been vetted by a team of world-renowned ancient art experts, including Laetitia Delaloye, Emma Saber, James Brenchley, Sami Fortune, and Apollo Art Auctions' founder, Dr Ivan Bonchev (PhD, University of Oxford).

Egyptian relics include a rare and most unusual khopesh "sickle sword," circa 1550-1070 B.C. It is 556mm long and similar to a sword appearing in the book The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands. With provenance from the Alan Baidun collection and accompanied by a professional historical report from Ancient Report Specialists, its estimate is £45,000-£50,000 ($54,120-$60,135).

From Egypt's New Kingdom period, circa 1550-1070 BC, a wood canopic jar is finely modeled in the form of a human-headed Imsety, one of the Four Sons of Horus and guardian of the liver. The jar displays three columns of hieroglyphs enhanced with black pigment. Its inscription, in part, invokes an offering of "bread, oxen and fowl." Ex Captain Magnus Julius Davidsen (1877-1962) collection, the vessel is estimated at £7,500-£15,000 ($9,020-$18,040).

More than 80 lots of Ancient Greek, Byzantine and Hellenistic artifacts will be presented, including pottery, sculptures, gold jewellery, and weapons of war. A fine circa-400 BC Chalcidian helmet was forged in one piece with high-arched eyebrows below a peaked, raised band, and with a teardrop-shape nose guard. Similar to an example in The Walters Art Museum collection, it is estimated at £6,000-£9,000 ($7,215-$10,825).

Approximately four dozen pieces of Roman jewellery were chosen for the auction, including necklaces, pendants on chains, gemstones, wearable earrings, and gold rings set with stunning gems. A hollow gold ring with a richly hued, D-shape garnet intaglio depicting the god Mercury carrying a caduceus has undergone XRF analysis and has a £10,000-£15,000 ($12,030-$18,045) estimate.

An exquisitely modeled medieval Western European silver-gilt dish, circa 1200-1400 A.D., is likely Limoges and from the Limousin region of France. The center tondo is delicately crafted in niello inlay gilded with a mythological animal, possibly a lion. With similarities to a dish in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, it is estimated at £20,000-£30,000 ($24,055-$36,080).

Apollo Art Auctions' July 24, 2022 live gallery sale at 25 Bury Place, Bloomsbury, London, will commence at 7 a.m. US Eastern Time/12 noon BST. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers. GBP, USD and EUR accepted. Worldwide shipping; all packing handled in-house by white-glove specialists. Tel. +44 7424 994167, email [email protected]. Online: www.apolloauctions.com

Apollo Art Auctions is a member of the British Numismatic Trading Association (BNTA) and the Art Loss Register (AR).

Media Contact:
Dr. Ivan Bonchev
Tel. +44 7424 994167, email [email protected]

SOURCE Apollo Art Auctions