ENCINO, Calif. – Malter Galleries Inc. will present an Ancient Art from Around the World Auction Feb. 15. The sale will consist of 382 lots of ancient glass, pottery, stone and metalwork.
“They’re all small nice collectibles. I know the provenance on most of them,” said Michael Malter, president of Malter Galleries. “The strongest areas are Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Pre-Columbian. The auction has a nice representation of those areas.”
One of the choice items in the sale is an Egyptian gilt wood mask from the XXVI Dynasty, circa 664-525 B.C. The 10-inch-tall mask carries a $6,000-$8,500 estimate.
“It’s just a nice displayable piece,” said Malter. “Most of the items that we have tend to be on the smaller size. I’m not set up for large items.”
Two choice lots are carved chlorite stone heads from 10th-12th century India. One is an 8 3/4-inch head of Bodhisattva, which is expected to bring $4,000-$5,500. The other is a 12-inch bust, Pala, which is estimated at $2,500-$3,500.
“We’re obviously not doing high-end auctions like Sotheby’s or Christie’s. Most of the items we sell are in the $200 to $2,000 price range with a smaller portion in the $2,000 to $5,000 range. Every auction I’ll have a few things over $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000, but that’s kind of the high end of what we handle for that type of merchandise,” said Malter, adding that he would not turn away a high five- or six-figure item. “Not if it had the right provenance and I thought I had a shot at selling it.”
His father, Joel L. Malter, who died in 2006, founded the business in 1961. “It started out mostly as an ancient coin company selling Greek and Roman coins. I still do that, but it has evolved and branched out into other areas including related antiquities.”
Malter Galleries conducts about six Ancient Art from Around the World Auctions a year.
“We’ll have one every couple of months. It takes that long to get them together,” said Malter. “With the Internet it’s a worldwide auction, but I still have a lot of local people and regular customers who can’t afford to spend huge amounts of money every week, so two months seem to be a good separation between auctions.”
He has also conducted book auctions including two important sales devoted to numismatic books in 2006 and last year.
Malter Galleries’ Ancient Art from Around the World Auctions are available for Internet bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com. For more information contact Malter Galleries at 818-784-7772, toll free in the United States at 888-784-2131, or go to the Web site www.maltergalleries.com. Malter Galleries is located at 17003 Ventura Blvd., Encino, CA 91316.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
