The Timurids were the final great dynasty to emerge from the Central Asian steppe. In 1370, the eponymous founder, Timur (Tamerlane), who belonged to a Turko-Mongol tribe settled in Transoxiana, became master of this province and established Samarqand as his capital. Within thirty-five years, he subjugated all of Central Asia, greater Iran, and Iraq, as well as parts of southern Russia and the Indian subcontinent By bringing craftsmen from different conquered lands to his capital in Samarqand, Timur initiated one of the most brilliant periods in Islamic Art. Timurid art and architecture provided inspiration to lands stretching from Anatolia to India.

The spectacular Timurid panel is adorned with acutely engraved floral and foliate motifs that are decorated in a vibrant turquoise glaze. On both sides of the floral and foliate design runs a white border, which provides beautiful contrast and makes the elaborate engraving all the more prominent. The turquoise centre, which is enclosed by the white border, includes beautiful arabesque designs, split palmettes, and eloquent lotus buds.

This superb head is a magnificent example of Roman sculpture’s capacity for naturalistic rendition of the human figure while also conveying a socially audible message denoting the sitter’s authority. In the present case, the sitter is clearly a woman of considerable substance and wealth, as indicated by her regal composure, to say nothing of her fantastically ornate and beautifully carved Flavian style hair. Although the piece has suffered some surface damage to the face and chin, the impact of her gaze persists unabated. The piece stands 14.5 tall and was presumably part of a life-size or slightly over life-size statue or bust. Dating from the period of major imperial expansion, it is likely that she was an aristocratic or even royal figure of her time, and we are proud to offer this outstanding piece to the discerning buyer.

Black-topped red ware is one of the most characteristic types of Egyptian pottery. Having first appeared during the Predynastic Period, it truly flourished during the Naqada I and Naqada II periods.

The body of this beautiful and important Egyptian large black topped vase is ovoid in shape. The top has been blackened by calcination and burnt. The bottom half of the vase is a gloss of rich red.

In keeping with all animal sculptures created in ancient Egypt, this example captures the essence of the ibis which, for the ancient Egyptians, was the embodiment of one aspect of Thoth, the god of wisdom. The incarnation of Thoth led to the creation of numerous amulets and statuettes, which played an integral role in the economy. In accordance to the father of history, Herodotus, it was an offense to kill an ibis, a belief which is in line with the fact that the animal was considered the embodiment of Egyptian gnosis.

The bronze is extremely detailed and the piece as a whole has a very elegant form. The ibis’ facial features are intricately carved to illustrate the animal’s large circular eyes and its long, downward slopping beak. The long S-shaped neck leads to the wooden oblong body, the curves of which are wonderfully carved. The legs are situated just beneath, bent outward at the knees and remarkably incised to provide the allusion of texture on the ibis’ legs. Similar attention to detail can also be found on the feet where the artist has sculpted claws.

The Late Period of Egypt is often regarded as the last flourishing period of the Egyptian power prior to its defeat by an expansive Achaemenid Empire.

With a monumental hieroglyphic inscription, sunken relief, with a funerary spell invoking: “Nephthys who protects her brother Osiris in every nome,” below is a frieze of five-pointed star. The frieze of stars is a frequent trait in wall representations of religious nature.

Remnants of blue, green, and red on the hieroglyphs denote that the limestone had been painted and help us envisage the original impression that was expressed when these colours were still in place.

An extraordinary sculpture of the hero Hercules depicted nude, standing with his weight on the left leg, the right relaxed and bent slightly in a typical Classical weight-shifting pose called the contrapposto. His gaze is directed away from the viewer, his body is finely modeled with well-defined musculature.  He wears lion skin over his head, its paws around his chest, a mane cascading along his shoulder and a claw in his right hand.

Of opaque glass, the profile head facing right, with long slender eyebrow and extended eyeline, with large fleshy earlobe, the broad neck with rounded base, pitted surface. This superb glass model of a face is a testament to the quality of figurative inlays that decorated temple walls during the Ptolemaic period.

A beautiful Minai bowl, deep rounded form on a short foot with a slightly everted rim, decorated in underglaze and overglaze cobalt blue, turquoise, red and shades of tea rose, outlined in black, with a central scene depicting a horse-rider bowing before a female figure standing atop a stylised tower, surrounded by human and animal figures and adorned with curving floral motifs, enclosed by a calligraphic band in Kufic script, the rim with a geometric design, the exterior with a framed cursive inscription. The inscription is a repetition of wa al-d(wawla), which means ‘wealth’. Round the outer rim reads the repetition of al-izz, which means ‘Glory’. The advent of overglaze enamelled decoration in the late-twelfth century saw a transformation of the traditionally limited ceramic colour palette. Polychromatic enamels were introduced and as a result the artist could produce detailed narratives scenes that are arguably more evocative than those previously seen on Persian ceramics. The Minai masters worked on lustreware of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as a result both techniques share certain features both technically, such as their second firing, and in their decoration, such as the moon-faced figural type. The decorative elements of Mina ware are thought to originate in textile patterns and book illustrations.

An exquisite limestone statue of a woman, her hands are extended with clenched fists resting at her side. Wearing a full-length garment with a fringe at her ankles, her neck is adorned by carefully depicted collar-like necklaces with pendants. On her chest rests a large pendant in the shape of a crescent moon and star amulet of the sun-goddess Shams; the symbol was believed protect the bearer. The sculpture itself is exceptionally stylized;  a a beautifully carved round face with large eyes deeply incised pupils, a triangular shaped nose over her small mouth and flared wig rendered with long strands. This sculpture is extraordinary in its depiction of jewellery and clothing, it is a useful source of information on styles of dress in ancient southern Arabia. The woman depicted was evidently an important person but in the absence of an inscription she remains unknown.

A large rectangular panel decorated with a blue background and embellished by three wide florets and three cartouches surrounded by flowering branches.