TimeLine Auctions: May 2022 Auction
Welcome to our second ancient art, antiquities and coin auction of 2022. As usual, the viewing of the objects, our Champagne reception, and the first day of the auction will be held in the Crystal Room in the heart of London’s Mayfair. We look forward to welcoming our customers once again to the prestigious May Fair Hotel.
Ancient antiquities recently made international headlines when a 1st century Roman bronze statue of Bacchus as a child made its way back to the Musée du Pays Châtillonnais in France. The statue was stolen in December 1973 and TimeLine Auctions is proud to have been involved in its successful return and to have worked together with the famed Dutch art detective, Arthur Brand. Further details regarding this endeavour can be found on the previous news item. We are pleased to announce that Arthur Brand will be a guest at our Champagne reception on 23rd May. His presentation will outline the circumstances of the statue’s return and the central importance of his ongoing efforts to recover stolen art.
In addition, Dr Garrett Ryan has kindly agreed to travel from Chicago to give a short presentation on ‘Nightlife in Ancient Rome’. Dr Garrett Ryan holds a PhD in Greek and Roman History from the University of Michigan and has a wealth of experience teaching in the history and classics departments of several universities. He will be available to answer questions on the subject of nightlife in ancient Rome and his ever popular YouTube channel ‘Toldinstone’. He will also be available to sign copies of his popular book 'Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants’.
Schedule:
Monday 23rd May
12 Noon: Start of viewing
6.00pm: Champagne Reception
6.30pm: Presentation by art detective Arthur Brand (postponed due to a family emergency)
7.30pm: ‘Nightlife in Ancient Rome’ by Dr Garrett Ryan
9.00pm: Close of reception and viewing
Tuesday 24th May
9am: Start of viewing
10am: Antiquities Auction Day 1 (lots 1 - 520)
Wednesday 25th - Sunday 29th May
Days 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 (The Court House, Harwich)
This sale contains treasures from many private collections, including the collection of Albert Ward (part 3), and the findings of several Mudlarks and other UK detectorists. Some highlights include: lot 1, the very large Egyptian Shabti for Pa-di-Osiris, guided at £10,000-£14,000; lot 10, a Limestone Relief of an Egyptian Child God Wearing the Double Crown, guided at £30,000-£40,000; lot 72, the Etruscan Bronze Hands from a Funerary Figure, guided at £3,000-£4,000; lot 89, 'The Everleigh' Romano-British Seated Figurine of the Philosopher Epicurus, guided at £3,000-£4,000; lot 103, a Marble Sarcophagus Excavated from near the Tomb of Cecilia Metella in Rome by the Duke of Buckingham in 1828, guided £10,000-£14,000; lot 147, a Byzantine Architectural Reliquary, guided £8,000-£10,000; lot 319, an Urartian Helmet with Worshipping Scenes and Crowned Kings, guided £40,000-£60,000; lot 382, 'The Feltwell' Anglo-Saxon Enamelled Bowl Mount, guided at £5,000-£7,000; lot 421, an Anglo-Norman Sandstone Relief of the Virgin and Child from Yorkshire, guided at £8,000-£10,000; and lot 449, a Medieval carving 'The Lamentation' from the Workshop of Tilman Riemenschneider, guided £8,000-£10,000.
The objects in this sale have been inspected and vetted in person by a committee of more than a dozen archaeologists, experts and specialists, including several professionals from other European countries. The majority of the team met on 4th and 5th April 2022 to examine the array of objects we have on offer. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Richard Falkiner on becoming our senior consultant, after having completed 10 years of consulting and vetting for us. We also welcome science-based consultant Ivor Goro to our vetting team.
The February sale was another resounding success with over 87% of lots being sold. I am also happy to report that the non-profit projects we support, both Wildwinds.com and the Harwich Museum, are still exceptionally popular.
Some of the star lots sold in our last sale included: lot 1, Sarcophagus of Tetosiris, sold for £49,400; lot 2, ‘The Miller’ Egyptian Cat, sold for £23,400; lot 39, Statue of Re-Horakhty, sold for £35,100; lot 106, Hercules Statuette with Silver Torc, sold for £13,000; lot 157, Old Babylonian Cuneiform Tablet, sold for £5,720; lot 214, Early Assyrian Ring, sold for £14,300; lot 309, Chalcidian Greek Helmet, sold for £19,500; lot 340, Viking Silver Inlaid Axehead, sold for £20,800; lot 397, Medieval Sculpture of Christ sold for £15,600; lot 415, Lusterweibchen Figure, sold for £13,000; and lot 439, Tudor Merchants Ring, sold for £16,900; all inc. bp.
As a new feature, clients using our live bidding platform can now click on items to access pop up cataloguing, images and expanded images, available directly from the live console during the bidding process. In addition, we have launched a new feature enabling viewers to ‘like’ lots that they find particularly interesting, and we plan to collate this data into a league table which we believe our clients will find useful.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Raffaele D’Amato
(Head of Antiquities
at TimeLine Auctions)
