Phoenician Clay Figurine Fragment of the Goddess Astarte, circa 500 BC, LEBANON

Provenance: Purchased in an antiquities auction (Christies)
Circa: 500 BC
Age: 2500 years old
Size: 5.0cm

Condition: Fragment, presented on bespoke stand.

Terracotta Head from a Figurine, Kushan Dynasty, circa 1st-2nd century AD, NORTH INDIA

Provenance: Purchased from an antiquities Auction
Circa: 1st - 2nd century AD
Age: approx. 2000 years old 
Size: 5.2cm 
Condition: Excellent and presented on a bespoke stand.

Large Black Ware Ceramic Ch'ing Dynasty Jar with Zoomorphic Handles circa 1800 AD, CHINA

Provenance: Purchased at Auction, Melbourne.
Circa: 1800 AD
Age: 200 years old
Size: 25.5cm
Condition: Excellent

Roman Clay Head possibly of a priest or deity circa 300AD Colchester ENGLAND

Provenance: Purchased in England from an old collection.
Circa: 300 AD
Age: 1700 years old
Size: 6.5cm
Condition: Excellent

Envelope from the Apollo 14 Recovery Ship USS Hawkins with Arthur C Clarke Autograph

Sci-Fi author and futurist Arthur C Clarke was on the Apollo 14 Mission Recovery Ship USS Hawkins stationed in the West Atlantic for a possible abortive splash-down there 9 February 1971. Clarke signed only about 10 of these envelopes.

Ballentine !st Edition: Young Frankenstein with Tip-in Autograph from Mel Brooks

These very fragile Ballentine Paperbacks do not survive well. or its fragility and its use (with no spine-crack) it is in excellent condition with the added bonus of Mel Brooks autograph with tip-in signature.

Mayan Clay Head circa 500 AD Central America

Provenance: Purchased at auction : Fine Australian & International Art & Antiquities featuring the collection of the late Henry Baxter.
Circa: 500 AD
Age: 1500 years old
Size: 5.5cm /4.8cm
Condition: Excellent with soil accretions 

Celadon Ware Bowl with a cloud motif in Brown Glaze, Sukhothai Period circa 13th-14th Century, THAILAND

Provenance: Purchased at auction in Bangkok's Antique District, River City.
Circa: 13th - 14th Century
Age: 750 years old
Size: 15.5cm diameter /Height 6.0cm
Condition: Excellent

During 1300-1500 A.D., Sukhothai – the capital of the first Thai Kingdom – was the production center of the greenish-glazed stoneware known as “Sangkhaloke” wares due to the mispronunciation of Sawankhaloke – the name of an important production site of the kingdom.

Westerners at the time called this kind of ceramic “Celadon” after a French term, but in fact Celadon originated in China whose products have always been easily identified with Chinese characters at the bottom of the vessels. But if a vessel bears Thai letters instead, it was certainly made in Thailand.

          Sukhothai was the center of the continual production of Celadon for over 200 years as evidenced by hundreds of old kilns excavated at Tambon Ban Ko Noi and Tambon Payang in Sawankhaloke. In addition, fine specimens of Thai Celadon have also been found in different countries along the ancient shipping trade route in that era such as Java, Sumatra, Malacca, the Philippines, Japan.  

At the end of Sukhothai period, the kingdom had been constantly weakened by warfare against the invasions of neighboring kingdoms, which eventually led to the southward-shifting of the capital to Ayutthaya, thus the halt of Celadon production at Sukhothai.

Japanese Blue & White Export Stone Ware circa 1850, JAPAN

Provenance: Purchased in 1985 at an Antiques Store, Braidwood, New South Wales
Circa: 1850
Age: Approx.+160 years old
Size: 16.5cm diameter 
Condition: Very good 

This was a remarkable find for me. In 1985 I took my (then) very young children for a drive through to Canberra via Nowra on the coast. We stopped at Braidwood for a picnic lunch and noticed an Antiques dealer open. He had a stack of old plates in the $1.00 basket and my eye spotted this beauty.

The Japanese were just getting into manufacturing export ware and I suspect that these items were destined for the gold fields.

One can always tell Japanese from Chinese by the claws on the dragon. Three claws = Japanese.

The marks you see on the plate are from props in the firing process that separated each plate as its being fired.

I had it appraised about 2 years after I purchased it and it was $500 in 1988. I had it appraised again in 2010 and its now worth $1,800.