A female bust from the ancient city of Cyrene.
Looted antiquities returned to Libya
Two antiquities looted from the ancient city of Cyrene, near present-day Shahhat in Libya, have been returned to the country. Valued at $1.26m, the marble face of a Ptolemaic queen and a female bust were part of an investigation by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L Bragg, Jr in New York.
A marble face of a Ptolemaic queen.
The DA’s office and US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) said the two artefacts were looted from Cyrene and smuggled by antiquities dealer Robin Symes. It added: “Symes acquired the two Libyan antiquities for his personal collection and had them stowed away in a New York storage unit for over two decades.”
The items were returned during a repatriation ceremony earlier this month.
Since 2022, the DA’s office has repatriated five antiquities to Libya, collectively valued at nearly $3m. This is the latest announcement this year of repatriated artefacts that passed through the hands of Symes. Others have been returned to Greece and Iraq.
Hereford Hoard to go on display
Items from the Hereford Hoard are on display in Hereford’s Museum Resource and Learning Centre.
Currently the hoard comprises 29 silver coins, one silver ingot, a beast’s head gold bracelet, a rock crystal pendant and a gold ring.
It is believed the hoard originally contained more than 300 coins and many ingots, most of which have been illegally dispersed after they were found by two different metal detectorists in 2015.
A series of investigations and court cases followed because the artefacts were not declared under the Treasure Act. It is hoped the hoard will grow once more items are recovered.
The exhibition will eventually move to the Hereford Museum and Art Gallery when it reopens in 2025 following a major refurbishment and expansion.
Bronze chandelier sale put on hold
A bronze chandelier by Alberto Giacometti.
A bronze chandelier by Alberto Giacometti (1901-66) has been temporarily blocked from export in the hope a UK institution can raise the £2.92m needed.
It had originally been commissioned by the art patron and collector Peter Watson from Giacometti sometime between 1946-47. It had hung in the offices of literary and cultural magazine Horizon in Bloomsbury until the venture closed in 1950. It later ended up in the antiques shop of Elizabeth Denton in Marylebone but without attribution and was bought by artist John Cra xton (1922-2009).
The artist purchased it from the shop in the late 1960s for just £250 and it hung in his family’s Hampstead home until his death in 2009. It was only in 2021 that the chandelier was confirmed to be by Giacometti following verification by the Fondation Giacometti in Paris.
It was then offered at Christie’s 20th/21st Century London Evening sale on February 28 and sold for £2.4m (£2.9m including fees).
A UK institution has until November 12 to make an offer to raise the £2.92m (plus VAT of £104,000).
Eyebrow-raising bids expected
A large black and white portrait photograph of Sir Roger Moore estimated at £1000-1500 at Bonhams.
Items from the collection of the late actor Sir Roger Moore (1927-2017), offered by his family, are coming to a 180-lot auction at Bonhams on October 4.
It will include James Bond memorabilia, collectables and personal ephemera with highlights including Sir Roger’s 007 mohair double-breasted dinner suit worn for the Eif fel Tower scene in A View to a Kill.
Sir Roger starred in seven Bond fi lms following his appearances in hit TV shows The Saint (1962- 69) and The Persuaders (1971).
Flooding forces early fair closure
An art fair in Long Island, New York state, featuring works by artists such as Renoir, Picasso, Hockney and Norman Rockwell was forced to close early on its final day due to flooding.
The decision to shut the Hamptons Fine Art Fair three hours early on July 16 came after a torrential downpour of rain caused water to enter part of three pavilions at the Southampton Fairgrounds.
Exhibitors and visitors were evacuated on safety grounds due to the presence of electric cables for the gallery lighting.
According to reports, an opera singer carried on performing in the VIP area as the water level rose - reminiscent of the band on the Titanic.
Works were left on the walls and armed guards and police watched over the building until dealers were able to return the following day to collect their stock.
It is understood that no serious damage was caused to the artworks.
The fair ran from July 13-16 and featured primarily Modern and Contemporary art.
Most read
The most clicked-on stories for week July 13-19 on antiquestradegazette.com
1 Looted 8th century stone goddesses found in English garden to return to India
2 That’s the Wade to go: rare figure sets auction record for pottery factory
3 Obituary of clock dealer Jonathan Carter (1964-2023)
4 Mason’s ironstone ceramics star in our pick of five auction highlights
5 UK buyers sought for Giacometti bronze chandelier and 18th-century botanical drawings
In Numbers
2007
The year that a first-ever factory-sealed 4GB original iPhone to be sold at auction was produced. Offered at the LCG Summer Premier Auction in the US on July 16, it sold for a premium-inclusive $190,373 (£144,680). LCG previously sold an 8GB version of the original iPhone for $63,356.
