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| brzzzz- brzzz, five-legged cow... (Timeline) |
Just to take one example, a "Western Asiatic Sassanian Stag Money Box £30,000 - 40,000" for putting all that Sassanian small change in... The coin slot is obviously wheel-cut.
Provenance Property of a London gentleman; formerly with Naoxs (sic) Art Gallery, London, UK; accompanied by a detailed report by J.W. Allan and a copy of the purchase invoice from Naoxs (sic) Art Gallery dated 12 October 1986 (£35,000). Literature See Trever, K.B. and Lukonin, V.G. Sasanidskoe Serebro, Moscow, 1987.(sic)but, wait a second, it is dated by Mr Hammond as "8th-9th century AD", so what kind of Sassanian is that? I think his problem is he'd have to explain why he has what is supposed to be an Umayyad (or Abbasid) zoomorphic vessel on sale. What dealery-nonsense is this? Trade descriptions Act 1968 anyone?
If you are interested in the technology of 'ancient stone cutting', I reckon you'd be intrigued by a couple of Mr Hammond's offers. Like this 'cylinder seal'
Provenance From the private collection of a North West London lady; previously with a central London gallery; formerly acquired before 1990.but the whole range of cylinder seals (and their 'provenances') is really thought-provoking:
'cylinder seals' on open sale in UKand then this one that looks like Boris Johnson. And what are we to make of him selling a gay-sex scene intaglio as 'Roman'? (Roman Gemstone with Erotic Scene3rd-4th century AD or later [...] provenance: Property of a Belgian gentleman; formerly the property of a gentleman; acquired in the late 1960s-early 1970s.). I think the whole thing is neatly summarised by the five-legged cow crudely cut apparently with rotary discs:
Phoenician Stamp Seal with Cow and Calf 6th-4th century AD A carved agate stamp seal with intaglio cow and calf beneath a crescent moon. 5.11 grams, 19.2mm (3/4"). Very fine condition. Provenance Property of a Bristol collector; formerly part of his father's collection formed between 1960-late 1970s.Look at that "Phoenician 6th-4th century AD". How much more or less truthful is that 'provenance' - and anyway, why is that significant in any way when what is in question is whether the object left the ground and source country by legal means? That "some guy in Bristol" had it means nothing.
Personally, I am not convinced that all of the intaglios (and a number of the other artefacts) Mr Hammond identifies as 'ancient' are anything of the kind. And anyway the way their collecting histories are presented is no guarantee of legal origins (note that, as far as I can see, in not a single case is the name of the country the object was allegedly legally imported from is given, and that has a significance in that their antiquities laws were introduced at different dates).
Surely such a visible British a dealer should aspire to do better than that.
6 comments:
Most All of the 'Provenances' given by Timeline Auctions would be worthy of 'The Monty Python Show' or even 'Del Boy Trotter'. It would be Really Funny if it were not So Awful.
Jamie Corrigan
Timeline Auctions stress that the objects they sell are passed by their team of experts, with Gilmour, their 'Expert' on Arms And Armour, in 'his own words' having the Final Say. See Timeline Auctions video ''Dr Brian Gilmour Seminar May 2017 Scientific Investigations of Arms and Armour'' in which Gilmour shows quite clearly, that he knows very little of his Specialist Subject of Arms and Armour. Matthew 15.14 comes to mind.
In their sale of November/December 2019 there are 'Again' a Large Number of 'Iron Objects' all having the very same Patina and Pitting and All sharing the very same Provenance, ''The Family Collections Of a South East London Collector'' It would seem that this Gentleman has a Huge Collection of such things as they have been appearing in Timeline Auctions for several years, selling for Tens of Thousands of pounds combined. Yet, All with the Very Same Patina and Pitting. Scythian Swords, Viking Age Axe Heads and Spear Heads.
In November 2019 sale lots 0425,0433,0434,0435,0436,0437,0438,0439,0440,0441,0442. In their sale of September 2019 lots 0447, 0448,0464,0465,0466,0467,0468,0469,0470,0471,2433, 2495,2508,2525. There are Many More of these 'Iron Objects' to be found in previous sales, 'All' with the very same patina and pitting. It can also be seen in the descriptions of all these "Iron Objects' they range over several centuries and cultures and were, we must imagine found at different times and locations???
Perhaps Mr Gilmour could explain all of this???
Jamie Corrigan
In their sale Nov/Dec 2019 a further group of 'Iron Objects' have appeared, lots 3134, 3142, 3169, 3187, 3238, 3239, 3240 and 3253. Even more Viking Axe Heads etc and all with the very same patina and pitting, and all of course from the same seller.
In over 50 years of being deeply interested in ancient weapons, and having worked at Whitby Museum for several years as Curator of Ethnography, during which time I cataloged that entire collection of many thousands of objects; I have to say that I have 'Never' seen or even heard of a huge collection of iron artifacts coming from several centuries and cultures, and yet 'All' sharing the 'Very Same' Patina and Pitting.
You can often times find Bronze artifacts which have this appearance, but iron rusts and decays in a totally different manner. In fact the two sides of an iron artifact can often have different corrosion due to how it has lain in the ground. Then of course there is the issue of 'The Ground' itself, an iron artifact can be well preserved in one area, yet a short distance away it can be another story.
Of course, the 'Experts' at Timeline Auctions guided by Brian Gilmour their 'Specialist' in Arms and Armour have been Authenticating this Huge Collection of 'Iron Objects' for several years and selling them in total for Tens of Thousands of Pounds. So how can we blame The South East London Collector when he submits these things for sale and is assured by Mr Brian Gilmour that All Is In Order.
On the whole, I think The South East London Collector is Very Wise to off load his collection of 'Iron Objects' for such Huge Sums Of Money, and Very Fortunate to have The Professional Assistance of Time Line Auctions and Brian Gilmour in this matter.
Jamie Corrigan
Yet Another Big Win for Timeline Auctions and the South East London Collector! In selling yet another large collection of 'Iron Objects' which cover a time span from a Scythian sword of the 5th century B.C. thru to Celtic and Roman spear heads and on thru the Anglo Saxon and Viking Periods in the forms of numerous spear heads, axe heads etc, AND All of these Very Many 'Iron Objects' have the Very Same Patina and Pitting!
It Truly is a Wonderment that these 'Iron Objects' should be snapped up by eager buyers for sums totaling over 20,000 pounds in this sale alone, and as this has been going on for several years, the total of the money raised for the sales of these seemingly endless 'Iron Objects' is eye watering.
I wonder how many more of these 'Iron Objects' which span such an immense Timeline and all share the Very Same Patina and Pitting are yet to be offered up for sale by Timeline Auctions on behalf of The South East London Collector?
We can only Watch and Wait for the next episode in this Amazing Saga.
Jamie Corrigan.
Timeline Auctions sale for February 2020, The South East London Collector does it Again! No fewer than 18 Viking Age Axe Heads, some Spear Heads, a Sythian sword and other 'iron objects' and all but three have the very same Pitting and Patina as the scores of others sold since 2017. The three that differ have a better degree of pitting but also have a strange treacle like patina.
Also Timeline seem to have change the style of their pages on the internet, before you could just click on a lot and enlarge the image, now however you can not do this unless you have an account with them and click a box to say you accept their terms and conditions! Clause 14 comes to mind.
Of the scores of these 'iron objects' all having the very same pitting and patina, sold by Timeline Auctions on behalf of the South East London Collector
since 2017, Timeline Auctions states that this Huge Collection was put together in the 1950s and earlier, that is well before metal detectors came into use and such artifacts could be unearthed in ways other than casual finds or archaeological excavations. This fact must make this Vast Collection of 'Iron Objects' even More Amazing! That they should all share the very same pitting and patina is More amazing Still! Yet we should comfort ourselves that the entire collection has been viewed and passed as authentic by Brian Gilmour Timelines Specialist in such matters.
Jamie Corrigan
It is all very odd. I wonder if there is a possibility that this 1950s collector really did exist, and either deliberately bought distressed stuff from a local (?) artisan blacksmith reproducing ancient forms, or was conned into it?
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