Artemis Gallery to launch Antiquities-Saleroom with online absentee auction closing week of Nov 14. 275+ lots include classical antiquities, pre-Columbian artifacts, ethnographic art
Egyptian bronzes, including one of Hippocrates, will be auctioned, and excellent examples of Egyptian faience will be available. At least five coveted ushabtis will be offered, with the possibility of two or three more to be added later on.
“Ushabtis are servant figures that were placed in Egyptian tombs to handle daily chores for the deceased in the afterlife. Typically, there would have been 365 of them in a tomb, one for each day of the year,” Dodge explained.
The interest in pre-Columbian art is growing, Dodge said, thanks to an unexpected new group of buyers emerging from China. For that reason, Antiquities-Saleroom.com made an extra effort to secure consignments of fine pre-Columbian pieces for their November sale. The selection includes pottery from West Mexico, the Mayan territories and most of the major cultures of Peru, Costa Rica and Panama; plus objects created from wood and precious metals, such as effigies made of gold.
There are silver vessels known as “keros, which were used by Latin-American cultures for drinking “chicha,” and cylinders that Mayans used for their cocoa.
The variety continues with Olmec (Atlantic coastal Mexico, 1000 B.C.) stone objects used in hallucinogenic ceremonial rites, 5,000-year-old Valdivian (Ecuador) stonework and ceramic figurines; and objects from the Chavin culture of northern coastal Peru. Also, many other Mayan and Incan artifacts from the Spanish Conquest era have been cataloged.
The auction will conclude with a Discovery section featuring reasonably estimated artifacts that dealers may be able to secure at wholesale prices for resale. “There will be ancient trinkets estimated at $50-$100, and at the other end of the spectrum, some truly exceptional objects. All present excellent buying opportunities, and like everything else in the sale, the Discovery pieces are fully authenticated, quality items,” Dodge said.
The catalog for Antiquities-Saleroom.com’s auction closing over the week of Nov. 14 can be viewed online at the company’s website: www.Antiquities-Saleroom.com. For questions on any item in the sale, call Teresa Dodge at 720-890-7700 or e-mail antiquitiessaleroom@gmail.com.
CAPTION:
Egyptian New Kingdom wood shabti, wood, late 18th dynasty (circa 1300 B.C.), relatively early and rare, especially in this quality. Estimate $12,000-$15,000.
