Lot 485: Ubaid culture jug, 6000-plus years old, Mesopotamia, ca. 5500 to 4000 BCE. Estimate: $1,200 – $1,500. Artemis Gallery image.
BOULDER, Colo. – Classical antiquities, ancient pre-Columbian Art, prehistoric Native American and additional ethnographic artifacts can be found among the 475 lots to be sold at Artemis Gallery’s auction on Aug. 27.
LiveAuctioneers.com will facilitate Internet live bidding.
“Several times a year we like to auction a wide variety that nearly anyone can afford,” says Teresa Dodge, Artemis Gallery’s executive director, in announcing the End-of-Summer Variety Auction.
“We’ve planned our last auction of the summer to be a fun showcase a wide variety of collecting genres so that entry-level buyers, seasoned collectors and price-conscious dealers could walk away with quality items at auction-friendly prices,” Dodge said.
Every Artemis Gallery auction features desirable, solidly provenance classical antiquities, and the Aug. 27 event is no exception. Lot 2 is an Egyptian steatite Isis and Horus sculpture, dating to Egypt’s Late Dynastic period, ca. 700 to 330 BCE. The piece shows Isis suckling Horus, as the child god sits upon her lap. Lot 13, a cast bronze Egyptian Apis bull, exhibits wonderful presence and patina, and its provenance is rock-solid coming from Sotheby’s. It measures 2 7/8 inches long by 2 3/4 inches high, and dates to 662 to 330 BCE. It is entered in the sale with a $2,500-$3,000 estimate.
Drinking vessels are found in every culture. Their styles and the materials from which they are made reflect the status of their original owners and the types of beverages they were meant to contain. Lot 17 is a fourth century BCE Greek Apulian kylix designed for drinking wine. It likely came from a wealthy household and used as an everyday drinking vessel. Eight inches wide to the handles, the pottery vessel is intact and has a beautiful, deep metallic glaze with only minor surface wear. Bidding will open at $600. A second vessel of note is Lot 25, an Etruscan bucchero kantharos (wine cup) with two elongated loop handles. Dating to the fifth century BCE, it has a starting bid of $500.
Ancient coinage will be priced at 50 percent of the lowest retail price that Artemis Gallery could confirm. An example from the selection is Lot 23, a tetradrachm featuring Demetrius I, made of solid silver from the Greek Empire (modern-day Syria). A typical starting price on such a coin might be $700; the coin in the Aug. 27 auction opens at $200.
As with Artemis Gallery’s July 23 auction, the upcoming sale will also feature more beautifully glazed ancient Islamic ceramics from the ancient Near East, dating from 1100 BCE to 1300 CE. A highlight is Lot 56, a Persian kashan glazed jar with spectacular fiery iridescence. It carries a $400-$600 estimate. Additionally, several Dong Son Vietnamese and Cambodian bronze pieces dating to 800-400 BCE will be offered, including four Khmer cast bronze sculptures of Buddha Muchalinda, Vishvakarman (the celestial architect) and the goddess Uma.
The Pre-Columbian section includes a wide variety of pottery, textiles, stone and metal from the ancient Americas. Highlights include Lot 86, a bridge-spouted whistling vessel from the Chancay culture, ca. 800-1300 CE, Lot 102, another whistling vessel in the form of a rotund owl from the Ica culture of Peru, and Lot 106, a Panamanian Cocle polychrome fruitera. Estimated at $2,000 – $2,500, bidding starts at just $950. All of the pieces are nice examples, absolutely authentic and intact. Also in this section is a collection of more than 240 lots from the estate of Lynn Langdon, an amateur archaeologist who traveled extensively throughout Mexico, especially the western coast, in the 1950s. Not artistically important on their own, but taken as a collection, they show the wide variety of daily implements used by these indigenous cultures. Most lots from the Langdon collection start as low as $75, and many group lots guarantee exceptional values for collectors and dealers alike.
One piece of special note is Lot 483, a 6000-year-old pottery jug from the Ubaid culture of ancient Mesopotamia. Pre-dating those from Sumeria or Babylonia by thousands of years, this 10 1/2-inch-tall vessel is remarkably intact with only minor wear. Estimated at $1,200 – $1,500, this scarce example starts at $500.
Other ancient cultures represented in this sale include Holy Land, Indus Valley, Neolithic Danish, Celtic, Asian, Indian, Prehistoric Native American, as well as African / Tribal, PNG. With 475 lots there will be something for every collecting interest. All lots are priced to sell, selling without reserves to the highest bidders.
For additional information about any item in the auction, call Teresa Dodge at 720-502-5289 or email teresa@artemisgallery.com.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Lot 485: Ubaid culture jug, 6000-plus years old, Mesopotamia, ca. 5500 to 4000 BCE. Estimate: $1,200 – $1,500. Artemis Gallery image. Lot 2: Egyptian Steatite Isis and Horus Sculpture, Late Dynastic period, ca. 700 to 330 BCE. Estimate: $1,200 – $1,500. Artemis Gallery image. Lot 17: Greek Apulian Xenon Swan Kylix, southern Italy, ca. 340 to 325 BCE. Estimate: $800 – $1,200. Artemis Gallery image. Lot 31b: Roman green glass jar, Roman Empire, ca. second to fourth centuries CE. Estimate: $600 – $1,000. Artemis Gallery image. Lot 65: Rare Viking bronze cross pendant, northern Europe, ca. 10th century CE. Estimate: $1,200 – $1,500. Artemis Gallery image. Lot 72: Khmer bronze Vishvakarman – celestial architect, Cambodia, ca. 11th to 13th century CE. Estimate: $2,000 – $3,000. Artemis Gallery image. Lot 106: Panamanian cocle polychrome fruitera, Pre-Columbian, ca. 800 – 1000 CE. Estimate: $2,000 – $2,500. Artemis Gallery image. Lot 184: Two pre-Columbian Mayan vessels, Mexico, ca. 550 to 950 CE. Estimate: $2,000 – $3,000. Artemis Gallery image.
