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Plakas Auctions is a specialist auction house in Mayfair, London, holding dedicated sales of Ancient Art, Islamic and Indian Works of Art, Asian Art and Contemporary South Asian Art.

[LOT 416] A PTOLEMAIC GOLD SIGNET RING WITH A FEMALE ROYAL PORTRAIT, POSSIBLY ARSINOE II, HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3RD-...
16/10/2026

[LOT 416] A PTOLEMAIC GOLD SIGNET RING WITH A FEMALE ROYAL PORTRAIT, POSSIBLY ARSINOE II, HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3RD-2ND CENTURY B.C.

A PTOLEMAIC GOLD SIGNET RING WITH A FEMALE ROYAL PORTRAIT, POSSIBLY ARSINOE II, HELLENISTIC PERIOD, CIRCA 3RD-2ND CENTURY B.C. Of substantial weight, the ring formed from a single sheet of gold with a broad oval bezel merging smoothly into the tapering shoulders of the hoop.
Sister-wife of Ptolemy II Philadelphos, who was deified during her lifetime and continued to be represented on Ptolemaic coinage and seal-stones for generations after her death in 270 B.C. The same type is also used of her successors, notably Berenike II and Arsinoe III, and secure identification of individual Ptolemaic queens in miniature portraiture is rarely possible without an accompanying inscription.
this scale and weight were not everyday ornaments but instruments of administrative and personal authority, used to seal documents, letters, and goods in wax or clay. In the Ptolemaic kingdom.
Its weight, scale, and engraved image place it among the more ambitious examples of a class produced for a narrow stratum of Ptolemaic Egypt.

Estimate: £5,000 - £7,000

Dimensions: Length of Seal: 2cm Internal Diameter: 1.9cm Weight: 13g

Provenance: Property of an American Private Collector, previously acquired via British Trade, circa 1980s-2000’s

Sale Details:Ancient Art
23 October 2026 13:00 BST
London, United Kingdom

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[LOT 151] A ROMAN CARVED BONE DOUBLE-SIDED COMB WITH AN EROTIC SCENE, CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.Of rectangular form, car...
13/10/2026

[LOT 151] A ROMAN CARVED BONE DOUBLE-SIDED COMB WITH AN EROTIC SCENE, CIRCA 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.

Of rectangular form, carved from a single plaque of bone with two opposing registers of fine teeth projecting from the upper and lower edges, the teeth of differing gauge for coarse and fine combing.
Combs of this type belonged to the apparatus of the Roman toilette and were used by both men and women. bone was the preferred material for personal grooming implements of the better sort, prized for its close grain, which permitted the cutting of long, slender teeth without splitting, and for its associations with imported luxury; the material travelled from Africa and, to a lesser extent, India through the eastern Mediterranean trade and was reserved for objects of status within the household. The double-sided form, with coarse and fine teeth on opposing edges, is a standard Roman type recovered across the provinces, though decorated examples with figural relief of this quality are considerably less common than plain or geometrically ornamented ones.

Dimensions: Length: 10.5cm

Estimate: £5,000 - £7,000

Provenance:
Georg Steindorff 1861-1951,
Acquired by Taher Khorassani 1885-1974
Acquired by a British Ancient Art Gallery,
Property of a European Collector
Thence by descent

Sale Details: Ancient Art
23 October 2026 13:00 BST
London, United Kingdom

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[LOT 253] AN URARTIAN ‘BATMAN’ BRONZE HELMET CIRCA FIRST HALF OF THE 8TH CENTURY B.C.Of tall conical form, raised from a...
13/10/2026

[LOT 253] AN URARTIAN ‘BATMAN’ BRONZE HELMET CIRCA FIRST HALF OF THE 8TH CENTURY B.C.

Of tall conical form, raised from a single sheet of bronze and rising from a flaring reinforced rim to a sharp apex. A pronounced median ridge runs vertically down the front from the point, terminating above the brow in a short tongue-shaped projection flanked by two incised chevrons.
The construction is consistent with the pointed helmets worn across the armies of the ancient Near East during the earlier first millennium B.C.
Bronze helmets of this general type are associated above all with the kingdom of Urartu, centred on Lake Van, and with the Neo-Assyrian military establishment against which Urartu intermittently fought and traded through the ninth to seventh centuries B.C.

Dimensions:
Diameter: 21cm Height: 30cm Weight: 575g

Provenance: Property of a Private Japanese Collector,
Acquired in Europe in the 1980’s
Thence by descent

Estimate: £5,000 - £7,000

Sale Details: Ancient Art
23 October 2026 13:00 BST
London, United Kingdom

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[LOT 9] AN UNUSUAL CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL SQUARE BRUSHPOT, BITONG, QIANLONG (1736-1795)The object combines practical function...
12/06/2026

[LOT 9] AN UNUSUAL CLOISONNÉ ENAMEL SQUARE BRUSHPOT, BITONG, QIANLONG (1736-1795)

The object combines practical function with a refined ornamental programme, appropriate to the scholar’s table. During the Qianlong period, cloisonné enamel enjoyed strong imperial and elite patronage, valued for its brilliant colour, technical precision and durability. The use of landscape imagery on a scholar’s object connects the brushpot with cultivated ideals of retreat, literary refinement and the appreciation of nature.
the medium itself reflects the Qing taste for richly worked decorative surfaces. This unusual square bitong is a distinctive Qianlong cloisonné enamel work, uniting scholar’s function, architectural form and continuous landscape decoration in a compact and finely ordered object.

Height: 13 cm

Estimate: £2,000 - £3,000

Sale Details:
Arts Of Asia
18 June 2026 13:00 BST
London, United Kingdom

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[LOT 29] AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE CHINESE BLUE & WHITE “ELEPHANT” JAR, CHONGZHEN (1628-1644)The main scene shows an attendant...
09/06/2026

[LOT 29] AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE CHINESE BLUE & WHITE “ELEPHANT” JAR, CHONGZHEN (1628-1644)

The main scene shows an attendant standing on the elephant’s back, washing or tending it, while other figures appear among large plantain leaves, rockwork and garden details. The cover is decorated with further figures and foliage, with a short cylindrical neck and rounded blue knop.
elephants in Chinese art were associated with strength, dignity and auspicious rule. They also carried Buddhist and courtly associations, and in late Ming porcelain they often appear in lively narrative or symbolic compositions.

The Chongzhen period falls at the very end of the Ming dynasty, shortly before the Qing conquest. Porcelain from this moment is often admired for its expressive brushwork.

Height: 30 cm

Estimate: £10,000 - £15,000

Sale Details:
Arts Of Asia
18 June 2026 13:00 BST
London, United Kingdom

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[LOT 11] A LARGE CHINESE ENAMEL LIDDED BOX, QIANLONG (1736-1795)The richly coloured surface combines floral ornament, au...
09/06/2026

[LOT 11] A LARGE CHINESE ENAMEL LIDDED BOX, QIANLONG (1736-1795)

The richly coloured surface combines floral ornament, auspicious emblems and landscape painting, the enamel palette extending across blue, green, pink, yellow, turquoise and gilt tones. The cover is centred by a large circular landscape scene, depicting pavilions, bridges, figures, trees and waterways within an idealised garden setting.
As a lidded box, the object would have served as a luxurious container, its scale and finish suggesting a role within an elite domestic or courtly setting.

This large lidded box is an accomplished example of Qianlong enamel work, distinguished by its unusual lobed form, expansive landscape panel and richly integrated programme of floral and auspicious decoration.

Diameter: 38 cm

Estimate: £2000 - £3000

Sale Details:
Arts Of Asia
18 June 2026 13:00 BST
London, United Kingdom

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[LOT 4] A RARE BYZANTINE GOLD OPUS INTERRSAILE RING WITH DOVES & CORSS, 7TH-8TH CENTURY A.D.A substantial Byzantine gold...
26/05/2026

[LOT 4] A RARE BYZANTINE GOLD OPUS INTERRSAILE RING WITH DOVES & CORSS, 7TH-8TH CENTURY A.D.

A substantial Byzantine gold ring of broad hoop form, finely worked in opus interrasile openwork. The ring has a strong, rounded silhouette, with the pierced decoration giving lightness to what is otherwise a notably solid and weighty jewel.
The ring would have been worn as a personal ornament, but its imagery is clearly Christian in character. The Greek cross served as a direct expression of faith, while the doves may be understood as symbols of peace, purity, and the Christian soul. The acanthus leaves, inherited from Classical ornament, were frequently absorbed into Late Antique and Byzantine decorative language, where natural forms were adapted to frame sacred and protective motifs.
A closely related example is recorded in the British Museum, accession number AF.308. The present ring comes from a Private British Collection, acquired in the late 1990s, and thence by descent. Diameter: 2.3 cm Weight: 14 g Private British Collection, acquired in the late 1990’s.

Estimate: £3,000 - £5,000

Sale Details:
Ancient Art
29 May 2026 13:00 BST
London, United Kingdom

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[LOT 10] A ROMAN MARBLE TORSO OF VENUS CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.The marble’s pale tone reinforces the clar...
26/05/2026

[LOT 10] A ROMAN MARBLE TORSO OF VENUS CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.

The marble’s pale tone reinforces the clarity of the form, while the surviving fragment retains the calm sensuality associated with images of Venus. Venus, the Roman goddess of love, beauty and fertility, was among the most widely represented deities in ancient sculpture. Torso fragments of this type often derive from statues in which the goddess was shown either n**e or partly draped, drawing on Greek prototypes that presented the divine body through idealised but naturalistic form. Even in fragmentary state, the subject remains legible through the softened modelling of the torso, the feminine proportions and the controlled turn of the body. Dating to circa the 1st century B.C.–1st century A.D., this marble belongs to the period in which Roman patrons actively engaged with Greek sculptural traditions.
The present torso is recorded as the property of a British Collection, formerly purchased from a Swiss Private Collection, circa 1970s, and thence by descent.

Height of Marble: 50 cm
Height including base: 72 cm

Estimate: £8,000 - £12,000

Sale Details:
Ancient Art
29 May 2026 13:00 BST
London, United Kingdom

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[LOT 47] FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA (1924-2002) UNTITLED, OIL ON PAPER.FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA (1924-2002) UNTITLED, OIL ON PAPER...
20/05/2026

[LOT 47] FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA (1924-2002) UNTITLED, OIL ON PAPER.

FRANCIS NEWTON SOUZA (1924-2002) UNTITLED, OIL ON PAPER 19.5 x 14 inches Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist, Old Dhoomimal Gallery Collection, Property of a French Collection Published: F.N Souza, Father of Modern Indian Art, Dhoomimal Gallery Collection, P605.

Estimate: £6,000 - £8,000

Sale Details:
Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art
21 May 2026 13:00 BST
London, United Kingdom

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[LOT 20] A MONUMENTAL EGYPTIAN GRANODIORITE JAR PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, NAQADA I-II, CIRCA 4000-3200 B.C.Carved from dark, m...
20/05/2026

[LOT 20] A MONUMENTAL EGYPTIAN GRANODIORITE JAR PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, NAQADA I-II, CIRCA 4000-3200 B.C.

Carved from dark, mottled granodiorite.
The small lateral lugs.
Dating to the Naqada I-II period, circa 4000-3200 B.C., the jar belongs to the formative period of Egyptian material culture, before the emergence of the dynastic state. Hardstone vessels of this kind demonstrate the early mastery of stone technology in Egypt, requiring sustained labour, abrasive drilling and polishing techniques, and a developed understanding of form.
Length: 30 cm Width: 14 cm

Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000

Sale Details:
Ancient Art
29 May 2026 13:00 BST
London, United Kingdom

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32a St George Street
London
W1S2FJ

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Tuesday 9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 5:30pm
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