Greek, Roman, Egyptian & Other Antiquities

With Storm Ciara getting under way (in pre-coronavirus days…) it was not, perhaps, the ideal time to launch the new weekend sales at Canterbury Auction Galleries (20% buyer’s premium).

This finely modelled Hellenistic white marble figure of Aphrodite sold for £60,000 (plus 24% buyer’s premium) at Dominic Winter in South Cerney on March 5. Bidding opened at £30,000, twice the low estimate, before bids were exchanged between the internet and the phones.

A sculpture that had previously been owned by Stanley Seeger’s personal assistant at Sutton Place set a house record at Adam Partridge.

A Roman bronze ring offered for sale by Pax Romana (15% buyer’s premium) in London on November 24 appears to shed light on a little known aspect of the imperial army: the contribution of Jewish soldiers.

Given the growing number of claims made by national governments and heritage authorities when it comes to the antiquities sector, 2020 looks set to be another year of further controversies. Here, lawyer Fred Clark, an associate in Boodle Hatfield LLP’s art team, surveys the legal landscape of the ancient art market and looks ahead to what may well become a more regulated world.

Adding a classical touch to a highly successful five-day sale at West Sussex auction house Bellmans (22% buyer’s premium) was a 1st century AD Greco-Roman marble lower torso of Aphrodite.

Christie’s latest ‘Classic week’ in New York raised a premium-inclusive $59.9m (£46.8m) from nine separate sales.

Booth collaborations at TEFAF New York Fall encourage cross-collecting by visitors

After the Hartleys (17.5% buyer’s premium) September 4 sale, auctioneer Andrew Hartley admitted: “Furniture did not perform as it was hoped from tiny chinks of daylight discernible in the last few months.”