Starting Collecting
This article appears by kind permission of Ancient Magazine
The Basics
Humans are naturally acquisitive, says Joanna van der Lande, and collecting is as old as the objects collected. One fascinating area is the ancient world. The vast range of objects available are discussed here, but will be treated in greater detail in subsequent issues. Clearly the major motivation for collecting antiquities is an interest in past civilisations. As our own is derived from them, their study can help us put our own world into perspective and teach us that human nature has not changed as much as we might like to think. To be able actually to handle the material culture of our predecessors brings them to life in a way that reading and visiting museums cannot. In addition, many of the objects have highly attractive aesthetic qualities.
Collecting may also, of course, be seen as a form of investment, but in the case of antiquities caution is essential, because of the wide fluctuations of the market. Here it is best always to think long-term. While buying what you like, also spending prudently. Initially, it is very difficult to know what is a good buy and what is not. With antiquities there are perhaps more pitfalls than in most other fields and some will be discussed in this article. So do a considerable amount of homework before making a first purchase. Visit galleries, auctions, fairs and, naturally, museums. Build up contacts with members of the trade, such as those who advertise in the pages of Ancient and with local museums. Whenever possible handle objects so as to get a ‘feel’ for them.
I would suggest that the first step is to look at the background of antiquities’ collecting. The whole subject has become quite controversial in recent years and prospective collectors should familiarise themselves with the different aspects of the debate.
Some extremists even oppose the whole idea of private collecting. But humans are naturally acquisitive and collecting is as old as the objects themselves. Prehistoric flints and fossils have been discovered in Roman villas in Britain in contexts which suggest they were prized possessions. The Emperor Hadrian is known to have collected Greek marbles and Egyptian antiquities.
By the sixteenth century monarchs and rich aristocrats were building up fine collections. The taste developed later in England than in much of Europe. This was partly because the main cultural influence was Renaissance Italy and party from a puritanical aversions to acquiring images of heathen deities. A change first began under the Stuart kings. Prince Henry, eldest son of James I, laid the foundations of a coin collection, enlarged after his premature death by his brother Charles, later Charles I, who also acquired gems from the Dutch collector, Abraham Gorlaeus. In 1639, a catalogue prepared by Abraham Vanderdoort, Keeper of the Royal Collection in Whitehall, mentioned 169 statues at St James’s Palace and Somerset House and a further 230 in the Palace of Greenwich, although it is unlikely they were all ancient. During the Commonwealth most of Charles’ collection was sold, though Cromwell managed to hold on to a few of the sculptures.
At this time the leading sculpture collector was undoubtedly Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey. His considerable collection, though not always of the finest quality, was largely dispersed by his grandson, Henry Howard. However, through the wise intervention of a family friend, the diarist John Evelyn, the majority of pieces were donated to Oxford University.
As European travel increased in the seventeenth century so did interest in the riches of the past. By the eighteenth century the Grand Tour was taking the wealthy young particularly to France, Italy and Greece. From this era emerged the founders of many of today’s great collections—men like Sir William Hamilton, Charles Townley, Cardinal Albani and Henry Blundell. It was from the legacy of another great collector, Sir Hans Sloane, that the British Museum was found. A look at the list of benefactors of the British Museum demonstrates that this tradition continues to this day.
Most of the older British collections have now been dispersed, mainly by public auction. Looking at past catalogues gives us an idea of how many antiquities have been circulating here and abroad. For example, a published account of the collection of early Egyptian antiquities belonging to Lady Meux of Theobalds Park, shows it numbered 1,700 objects. It was subsequently sold at auction. The Northwick Park Collection, belonging to Captain E G Spencer-Churchill was sold at Christie’s in 1965 with over 600 lots in two auctions. Other collections formed this century such as the Constable-Maxwell collection of ancient glass was sold at Sotheby’s in 1979 and consisted of 355 lots. Another collection of antique glass, the Kofler-Truniger, was sold at Christie’s six years earlier and consisted of 348 lots. The Erienmeyer Collection has been offered at several sales, both at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, between 1988 and 1997 and there are many other examples.
We owe these collectors a huge debt of gratitude for the contribution they made towards laying the foundations of the world’s great museums. Even today there are many private collectors and benefactors who provide funding for museums and other institutions and are being increasingly relied upon in all sorts of ways. For example, the Cypriot galleries at the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge were refurbished thanks to the generosity of the Leventis Foundation.
Like collecting, auctions, too, have a long history. The four main English houses go back at least 200 years, though antiquities’ auctions have developed only this century. Until relatively recently there were active markets in Egypt, Iran and the Lebanon, as in Europe and the USA.
In some countries the movement of antiquities is now governed by strict laws. Before going on holiday to an archaeologically rich country, familiarisation with the local laws is advisable. Otherwise you may find yourself buying something not legally on the market. The safest course is to buy from the auction houses or members of the trade who will be aware of current legislation. Or you could contact the Antiquities Dealers Association (ADA) or the International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art (IADAA)—their details are at the end of this article. They can give you the names and addresses of dealers who have signed up to their codes of conduct. These names will also be useful in giving you an entrée to dealers all over the world.
You will soon realise that items from the ancient world can be bought for as little as £30, demonstrating that antiquities are not just for the wealthy.
There are certain questions you should have in mind when considering a purchase. Obviously not everything from the remote past has survived intact and many items have been repaired or restored. You should find out to what extent. Sometimes you can tell with the naked eye. Failing that you may need a magnifying glass—a useful tool anyway. Sometimes a more detailed examination is required, possibly from a specialist. Always ask for the piece’s recent history. Satisfy yourself it is on the market legally.
Watch out for fakes which have been around ever since originals were first discovered. If you decide to buy, keep the invoice and any documents that accompany it. If, for example, you purchased it in France it should come with a ‘passport’. Some items need a licence to leave the UK or the EU. Any responsible dealer will advise you.
The same applies to buying at auction. Reputable houses will apply for a licence on your behalf, but you may need to ask them to do so. Keep all information together with any work you have done on the object and it is wise to have a photograph of it, not least for insurance purposes. If you build up your collection with all these things in mind, it should help you enjoy your collecting.
You will need to know what you can buy and for how much. In this article we shall be discussing only objects which do not cost more than £2,000 and I will mainly be referring to objects that have been on the auction market in the last 12 months. Look through an auction catalogue and see what you can buy for over this sum and you will get an idea just how much you can buy at this level. When buying from auction always allow for the buyer’s premium, usually 15 per cent plus Value Added Tax. If you buy the same piece from a dealer it is likely that you will be pay extra for his expertise, so all prices are approximate.
The categories of antiquities you will find available range from Stone Age flints to Anglo-Saxon brooches, Celtic stone heads to Greek vases, Byzantine crosses to marble statuary, Bronze Age weaponry to gold jewellery, terracottas and bronzes, Greek core-formed glass to cylinder seals. The list is endless. To go into further detail, various categories of ancient jewellery can be acquired—including earrings, rings and necklaces in bronze, silver, gold and semi-precious stones. A simple pair of Roman gold earrings can be bought for as little as £200-£250; with more elaborate ones, perhaps depicting Eros on gold hoops, from £800.
Roman glass can be acquired relatively inexpensively from about £50 for a tear bottle and from about £100 for a bell-shaped unguentaria and from about £250 for a small glass bowl. Most of the glass you will see will be of a pale blue/green colour and prices increase considerably for coloured or fine quality glass. The value of Roman glass is greatly reduced when it is damaged in any way and this can make it hard to sell on. For rare glass this varies considerably, but for glass at the lower end of the market this is a general rule of thumb. You can buy a wide range of forms, for example, a Roman Janus-headed flask could be acquired for around £500. A 20cm high Greek core-formed amphoriskos could be acquired for £2,000 at auction. Lesser quality core-formed vessels can be acquired for around £1,000, depending on quality. The 38.7cm Cypriot Iron Age amphora illustrated sold for £550 at auction in 1997. Other Cypriot antiquities consisting of vessels of various forms and sizes, dating from the Early Bronze Age can be acquired from about £200.
Flint implements can also be purchased. If you buy them at auction, usually they are in large lots, or you can buy them individually from dealers. A British Palaeolithic hand axe can be acquired for under £100, the price obviously increasing with quality and size. Its Danish Neolithic counterpart can be acquired for a similar price. You can buy a Romano-British bronze brooch for about £40, again at auction they are normally sold in lots. Some of the better ones, both British and other, can fetch from £150 each. A 20cm high Romano-British Grey Ware vessel sold in 1997 for £550, whereas a North African Red Ware dish with impressed decoration would realise about £150.
It is possible to start collecting antiquities from the Greek or Roman worlds in the form of a simple lamp, costing perhaps £30. Even an example of Greek decorated pottery such as an Apulian ‘owl’ skyphos, so named because an owl is represented on either side and mass-produced in its day, can sell for as little as £300. At the other end of the scale, the 25.4cm Black-Figure amphora decorated with satyrs and youths playing pipes, though not of the best quality, would fetch around £1,600 at auction. A similar size Campanian Red-Figure bell krater (see photograph) sold for £850 at auction in 1997. Others of this size can sell for up to £1,800. The 14.5cm Etruscan chalice with figural decoration went for £1,300. An undecorated example, however, of similar date and form but a far commoner type, could fetch as little as £300. An 11.5cm Roman bronze figure of a Lar, or household god, would fetch around £600 at auction. A 30.5cm by 21.3cm Roman funerary marble relief stela with inscription above the figures would sell for about £600.
For under £2,000 you can acquire a variety of Egyptian antiquities, ranging from small amulets of reasonable quality starting at £150, with rather grander and larger examples selling for over £1,000. Ushabtis (funerary figures) were manufactured in large quantities, as 365 were required to conduct work on behalf of the deceased in the Afterlife. The quality varies and the simplest ones can fetch as little as £50 while the grander ones can fetch well over £2,000. However, you can buy a perfectly good example for between £400 and £800 depending on what type and period you are looking for. Wooden sarcophagus masks are simple yet immensely decorative and be purchased from £200 upwards, obviously depending on quality. An early Dynastic clay vessel undecorated and of very simple form could be acquired for about £200. There are a wealth of vessels and figures in terracotta, faience and stone as well as objects of wood dating from the Pre-Dynastic to the Coptic Period. A papyrus fragment inscribed with hieroglyphs or Coptic script can be bought for a few hundred pounds. A terracotta figure from the first century BC/AD from Alexandria could be acquired for around £100-£150.Traditionally Egyptian antiquities have a very strong market.
Earliest Mesopotamian scripts may be purchased in the form of a cuneiform inscribed baked clay tablet for as little £200 to £250. Syrian terracotta idols sell for around £150 each. Luristan bronze pendants, idols and weaponry are usually represented in auctions, their prices seldom reaching high levels but certainly you can acquire a piece of some quality for well under £700.
I hope this gives you a useful introduction into both the background of the collecting ‘bug’ and some encouragement as to the types and quality of object that can be purchase relatively inexpensively.
By necessity this is merely an introduction and by no means exhaustive. Auctions frequently sell items grouped together in larger lots, so read the descriptions carefully, as there will be items that are not dated, which means buyer beware! It is important to do some background work before you buy. Get a feel for quality and value and check provenance. Don't be afraid to question the dealer or auction house expert. Visit as many dealers, auctions and fairs as possible to see what is available and at what prices. Most cities in Britain and abroad have excellent museums. Visit them and absorb what they have to offer. Above all enjoy your collecting. It is one of the most fascinating and probably most complex areas of the art market to be involved in.
Useful Addresses
- The Antiquities Dealers Association (ADA)
Susan Hadida, c/o Faustus Ancient Art and Jewellery, 41 Dover Street, London W1X 3RB, UK. - The International Association of Dealers in Ancient Art (IADAA)
Chairman: James Ede, Charles Ede Ltd., 20 Brook Street, London W1Y 1AD, UK.
About the author
Joanna van der Lande is an Associate Director at Bonhams and the head of Bonhams Antiquities Department. She is also chairman of the Antiquities Dealers Association.