Many faces appearing in Ancient Resource Auctions event Dec. 8

MONTROSE, Calif. – Ancient Resource Auctions will host their Exceptional Winter Antiquities Auction on Saturday, Dec. 8, beginning at 9 a.m. Pacific time/noon Eastern. The auction will feature over 400 lots of high quality and well-provenanced ancient Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern, Holy Land, Byzantine, Asian, Native American, Pre-Columbian antiquities, as well as collections of ethnographic and fine art. Absentee and live online bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

The sale includes an outstanding assortment of ancient Egyptian antiquities, featuring a stunning upper portion of an Egyptian sarcophagus lid (above; estimate $15,000-$25,000), a beautiful Egyptian wooden figure of a Ba-Bird ($7,000-$10,000), a large bronze figure of a seated Isis ($5,000-$7,000), and a fine Egyptian wooden mummy mask from Egypt’s Late Period ($5,000-$8,000).

A great selection of weaponry from across many cultures will be offered, with highlights including a well-preserved iron broadsword, Oakeshott type XIV ($1,200-$3,000), a Near Eastern bronze crescent ax ($1,800-$3,500), a ritually broken Near Eastern bronze dirk ($1,200-$1,500), as well as a rare Etruscan bronze Negau-type helmet ($15,000-$25,000).

A selection of Greek and Etruscan objects from the collection of Harold Whitbeck and Moreland (Moni) Whitbeck, will be presented in the sale. The Whitbecks were lovers of ancient and fine art.  Moreland worked as a docent at the de Young museum for 25 years. They formed their collection with items acquired at major galleries and auction houses throughout the 1980s and ’90s. Highlights include a fabulous Etruscan terra-cotta head of a young woman (below; $3,500-$5,000), and an Apulian Greek red-figure fish plate ($3,000-$6,000).

A fine selection of larger Roman marbles and stone artworks is to be offered, including a Roman marble trapezophoros in the form of a panther ($18,000-$25,000), a published Graeco-Roman satyr head with attributes of Zeus-Ammon, which had been accessioned into the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1876 ($18,000-$25,000), a Roman marble relief plaque depicting a gladiatorial scene ($4,000-$7,000), and a Roman marble funerary stela ($7,000-$12,000).

In regard to smaller items, a collection of jewelry and wearable antiquities from a range of ancient cultures is to be offered. Highlights include a selection of ancient coins that has been modernly set into stylish, wearable settings, such as a ring and a cross pendant set with the famous “Poor Widow’s Mite” coin of the Bible ($180-$250 each), a Star of David ring set with the first Jewish coin ($250-$350), and a pendant featuring the coin type with one of Christ’s earliest depictions on coinage ($250-$350). Also featured is a beautiful Egyptian faience and stone bead necklace ($500-$700), a Late Roman/Byzantine gold ring with sardonyx stone (below; $1,800-$2,500) and a Roman gold pendant depicting Victory ($600-$1,000).

A small, but important selection of fine art is to be presented, featuring paintings by Mauve and Daubigny and bronze works by Troubetzkoy and Barye; as well as a group of fossils, highlighted by Lot 182D, a large ammonite grouping, from the Middle Jurassic Period, 172-168 million years ago.

The sale will close with a great selection of over 40 lots of Pre-Columbian figural art and pottery from Central and South America, encompassing a range of cultures and styles.

For details contact Ancient Resource Auctions at 818-425-9633 or
ancientresourceauctions@yahoo.com.