Scottish auction house forms a worldwide view of the art and antiques scene
27 May 2022 Lyon & Turnbull is taking a journey through world history and culture on June 8.
At ‘splash the cash’ level, try this ancient Egyptian bronze and gold cat, 21st-26th dynasty, c.1075-525 BC, estimated at £10,000-15,000 at Lyon & Turnbull. The 9cm tall cat (15cm mounted) is provenanced to the Gilles Grimm collection, Paris, and subsequently French art market, October 2017, with French passport.
Ancient Egyptians revered the cat as magical creatures, capable of bringing good luck to the people who housed them. Their popularity was also practical due to their ability to keep the house safe from vermin and snakes – cobras in particular. Bronze cats such as the present example were often cast in reverence to the goddess Bastet, whose main cult centre was at Bubastis in the eastern Delta.
Bid for this this ancient Egyptian bronze and gold cat on thesaleroom.com.
The firm is holding a sale titled Form Through Time, bringing together ‘Fine Ancient Art, Tribal Art and Natural History’.
It says: “These works offer a glimpse into the distant peoples who created them and reveal how the art of the remote past stimulated many of the great 20th century artists, with a tangible connection to our modern day.”
The auction will take place at Broughton Place in Edinburgh.
Here are five ideas on what to buy (including the picture above).
Celtic head
Originally uncovered during the digging of a wall at Sharpcliffe Hall, Staffordshire, UK, this ancient Celtic stone head, 24cm tall, probably 1st century BC, is estimated at £10,000-15,000 at Lyon & Turnbull. The site is situated in the immediate vicinity of prehistoric structures uncovered by men working in a gravel pit in 1910. Subsequently part of a private collection, UK.
L&T notes that stone votive heads are perhaps the most enigmatic of all the art produced by the Iron Age peoples of Britain, Ireland and continental Europe, often termed ‘Celts’. Frequently found near bodies of water, their function is not clear; suggestions have included their use as surrogates in head hunting societies, cult foci, or as venerated objects of healing. The ubiquity of the head motif sculpted in stone or carved in metal suggests that the ancient Britons held it in special reverence, likely believing it to be the centre of the soul.
See thesaleroom.com to view the Celtic stone head.
Nigerian pot
Racing forward to more modern days, estimated at £2000-3000 at Lyon & Turnbull is this 33cm tall stoneware pot by Ladi Kwali (c.1925-84), from Nigeria. In glazed stoneware, the base is inscribed with maker’s initials LK and the body decorated with traditional animal motifs in a sgraffitoed slip. Dr Russell J Parkes, a friend of the artist, acquired the pot from her while living in Zaria, Kaduna, in the early 1970s, and it comes to auction by descent. A lecturer at Ahmadu Bello University, Dr Parkes ultimately settled in Jos and became a key patron of several noted Nigerian artists.
L&T says that Ladi Kwali is “perhaps the most renowned African potter of the last 100 years”. A pioneer of African ceramic art modernism, she found international acclaim for her works, which melded the traditional skills she had been taught as a child with use of new materials and firing techniques. This resulted in heavier vessels that could no longer function as water storage pots, but rather served as fine art pieces.
Bid for the stoneware pot by Ladi Kwali via thesaleroom.com.
Wyoming fossil
This fossil, Green River, Wyoming, Eocene Period, features a sycamore leaf that fell to an ancient forest floor 50 million years ago. In a “superb state of preservation, with minute details and the vein system still clearly identifiable”, it is set within a limestone matrix, 23.5cm diameter, and is estimated at £400-600 at Lyon & Turnbull.
Visit thesaleroom.com to bid for the Wyoming sycamore leaf fossil.
Aboriginal boomerang
Coming in at ‘more affordable’ level in terms of estimate is a fine Aboriginal boomerang from Australia, guided at £300-500 at Lyon & Turnbull. The 77cm long boomerang is carved wood, of classic form, with stone carved grooves running along the length of the blade terminating at the handle, raised on a bespoke mount. It comes for sale from a private Scottish collection of Aboriginal boomerangs formed over the past 30 years.
Check out the Aboriginal boomerang on thesaleroom.com.