Greek, Roman, Egyptian & Other Antiquities

The antiquities market comprises artefacts and works of art made by ancient civilisations including statues, coins, jewellery and arms and armour.

Provenance is one of the most important considerations when trading in this sector as there is a long history of looting from archaeological sites.


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British Museum buys 3000-year-old Bronze age gold pendant

07 March 2020

A well-preserved 3000-year-old Bronze age gold sun pendant, known as a bulla, has been bought by the British Museum after it was found by a metal detectorist in Shropshire in 2018.

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Hellenistic marble figure of Aphrodite makes appearance at Cirencester sale

28 February 2020

Dominic Winter in South Cerney, Cirencester is anticipating a bidding battle next week for a finely modelled Hellenistic white marble figure of Aphrodite.

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Marble bust makes spectacular six-figure price at Macclesfield auction

21 February 2020

A marble bust, probably depicting Alexander the Great, sold for £320,000 at Adam Partridge in Macclesfield today.

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Stolen Afghan sculpture to return home after being spotted at UK auction

21 January 2020

An Afghan limestone sculpture believed to have been stolen during the Afghan civil war (1992-94), when Kabul was besieged, surfaced at an auction house in the UK last year.

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British Museum is third time lucky to buy 1000-year-old seal matrix

23 December 2019

A rare Saxon walrus ivory seal matrix will go back on display in the British Museum – after the institution missed out on buying the object twice before.

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Ring sheds light on Jewish soldiers in Roman army

23 December 2019

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.

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Greco-Roman marble torso of Aphrodite draws admirers in West Sussex

09 December 2019

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.

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Antiquities stolen from Afghanistan returned with help of British Museum and Met police’s Art and Antiques Unit

12 November 2019

Sculptures of Buddha dating from the 4th-6th centuries smuggled out of Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago have finally been returned to the country’s national museum.

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Rare Islamic gold dinar sets joint record at auction

25 October 2019

A rare Umayyad gold dinar dated 105AH (723AD) equalled the auction record for an Islamic coin when it was hammered down at £3.1m at Morton & Eden.

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Egyptian head brings smiles at Hartleys

30 September 2019

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.”

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Rare Roman Solidus coin found in Somerset field bought by European collector

18 September 2019

A rare Roman gold coin of the Emperor Constantine I found by a metal detectorist in a field in Somerset was hammered down at £16,000 (plus 24% buyer’s premium) at Dix Noonan Webb.

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Greek marble ‘wedding present’ returned to Munich museum

18 September 2019

A Hellenistic marble stele that was received as a wedding present in the 1950s has been returned to a museum in Germany after an investigation by antiquities dealers and an Oxford scholar.

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Going for bust with a £96,000 bid in Essex auction

16 September 2019

This Italian marble bust of an emperor, catalogued as 17th century after the antique, provided a moment of saleroom drama at Sworders’ Fine Interiors auction in Stansted on September 10.

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Hadrianic Dionysos head offered at Cottone’s auction

16 September 2019

One of the highlights of Cottone’s sale in Geneseo, New York, on September 28 will be this marble head of Dionysos, a Roman copy of a late classical (4th century BC) Greek archetype.

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Rare late Anglo-Saxon and early Norman conquest coin hoard discovered in Somerset valued at £4m

29 August 2019

A Bath museum hopes to acquire a rare hoard of coins found in a Chew Valley field that could be valued at £4m.

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Roman mask leads antiquities parade

26 August 2019

This copper-alloy Roman mask will be offered for sale on September 3 by TimeLine Auctions in London, estimated at £80,000-100,000.

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Ancient art from estate of prominent dealer Ingrid McAlpine to be sold in Salisbury

26 August 2019

The Tribal Art and Antiquities sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury on September 18-19 includes property from the estate of Ingrid McAlpine (1939-2018), one of London’s most prominent antiquities dealers.

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Roman eagle flies into London gallery

26 August 2019

Kallos Gallery features this 2nd century Roman marble eagle in its autumn catalogue and on its stand at TEFAF New York in October.

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Mask ‘matches Crosby Garrett find’

26 August 2019

Roman relic up for auction is believed to be from same workshop as famous helmet.

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Somerset field is first time lucky for metal detectorist after rare Roman gold coin discovery

14 August 2019

A metal detectorist searching in a new field for the first time was rewarded with the discovery of a rare Roman solidus coin.

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