Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art
The selection of outstanding sculptures on display in the galleries is led by Willem Danielsz. van Tetrode’s dramatic and ambitious bronze, Neoptolemus and Astyanax, directly inspired by a monumental antique marble from the Farnese collection (Treasures sale, est. £400,000-600,000). Autograph bronzes by the artist are rarely seen on the market, making the appearance at auction of this exceptional example – depicting an episode from the Trojan Wars – a luxury object fit for a collector of sophistication and erudition.

A poignant aspect of the Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art auction (24 November – 5 December) are the lots which have been returned to the heirs of Jewish collectors whose collections were stolen by the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s. The sale includes two works owned by one of the greatest 20th-century art collectors, Jakob Goldschmidt – whose 1958 auction of Impressionist pictures at Sotheby’s in London remains one of the defining moments of art market history – including a beautiful Italian Renaissance relief attributed to Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439-1501) of the Madonna and Child among Clouds, made circa 1480-90 (est. £40,000-60,000).

Originally serving as a container for holy water, an extremely rare Romanesque situla from the first half of the 12th century, thought to be among the earliest examples of its kind, once formed part of the collection of Emanuel Vita Israel, one of the foremost Jewish art collectors in Amsterdam (est. £30,000-50,000).

Small Wonders: Early Gems and Jewels
A sale of Small Wonders: Early Gems and Jewels (10 – 16 December) is distinguished by an exceptional 13th-century cameo representing the ascension of the prophet Elijah to heaven (est. £120,000-180,000). One of the most significant medieval glyptics to have appeared at auction in a generation, and one of a handful of 13th-century engraved gems with Hebrew inscriptions carved in the court of Frederick II, King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor, this enchanting and mysterious cameo was previously recorded in the Imperial Treasury of the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors.

Old Master Prints

Our inaugural Old Master Prints sale (26 November – 7 December) comprises several of most sought-after graphic subjects by Albrecht Dürer, Hendrick Goltzius and Rembrandt. Property from an Important Private American Collection includes four of Dürer's most revered prints, subjects that are also considered to be incontestable masterworks of Renaissance printmaking: St Eustace, Melencolia I, St Jerome in His Study, and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. St Eustace (est. £300,000-500,00), Dürer’s largest engraving, is also one of his most coveted – since its execution in 1501, it has been held up as an exemplar of the artist’s virtuosity as a printmaker. (Available to view by appointment until 7 December.)