CHICAGO, IL.- On November 18th, Hindman Auctions will present its Antiquities and Ethnographic Art auction, offering incredibly rare objects from the fifth millennium B.C. to the 20th century A.D. Across 400 lots, the sale spans seven millennia, encompassing everything from Near Eastern idols and Egyptian bronzes to Graeco-Roman marbles, pottery, glass and pre-Columbian vessels. Objects from India, Oceania and Africa as well as art reference books and catalogues will be represented. Extraordinary Egyptian cats rendered in numerous mediums, and marble sculptures from the Greek and Roman worlds will be among top lots. Collections include property from the Palm Springs Art Museum, California; Des Moines Art Center, Iowa; Dr. Hernan D. Ruf, Florida; Pamela Keld, New York; and an Important Midwest Private Collector.

An exceptional Egyptian bronze cat made during the 26th Dynasty, 664-525 B.C. (lot 61; estimate: $80,000-120,000) is the standout of the auction and graces the catalogue cover. Often ranging in size and quality, rarely do bronzes so exquisitely capture the splendor of the species as this life-sized figure, which measures 19.1 cm in height. By the Late Period, the goddess Bastet was often depicted in complete feline form. Objects such as this were deposited as votive offerings to her at the temple Bubastis or Memphis.

The auction will begin by taking bidders all the way back to the earliest forms of writing and abstract art, with cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals and stone idols. Figural stone sculptures will also be showcased throughout the sale, anchored by a rediscovered black marble Venus (lot 229; estimate: $40,000-50,000). Other examples of top sculptures include marble portrait heads of a Roman patrician (lot 218; estimate: $40,000-60,000), Emperor Domitian (lot 222; estimate: $40,000-60,000), a youthful satyr (lot 223; estimate: $40,000-60,000) and Alexander the Great (lot 232; estimate: $40,000-50,000). Large-scale sculptures and marbles also include a Greek marble loutrophoros (lot 172; estimate: $60,000-90,000), and a singular example of Alexander the Great as Hermanubis (lot 232; estimate: $35,000-45,000).

Exquisite Graeco-Roman pottery, such as an Attic red-figured kalpis from the fifth century B.C. (lot 166; estimate: $30,000-50,000), will also be spotlighted in the sale. Courtesans were often guests of the all-male symposium, and thus a popular subject matter in Greek art. Other important pottery offered includes a Roman kantharos (lot 254; estimate: $40,000-50,000). The superior craftsmanship of this crater is evident in the applied relief work and exuberant exterior.

Outstanding lots also include two Egyptian glass face inlays that depict royal portraits in profile (lot 38 and 39; estimates: $30,000-40,000 and $20,000-30,000 respectively), an Egyptian limestone sarcophagus lid from the Late Period (lot 73; estimate: $40,000-60,000) and an important Maya red-ware jaguar incensario from the sixth to 10th century A.D. (lot 297; estimate: $20,000-40,000).