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On November 1, 2026, Boulder, Colorado-based auction house Artemis Fine Arts will present World Treasures | Ancient & Ethnographic, a comprehensive sale bringing to market a diverse range of antiquities, ethnographic artifacts, and natural history specimens. Spanning hundreds of thousands of years of human history and material culture, the auction features prehistoric tools such as an Acheulean hand axe alongside ancient artifacts from Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Near East, and Asia. Additional categories include Pre-Columbian, Native American, and tribal art, as well as fine art, fossils, and minerals, led by early highlights such as Predynastic Egyptian limestone and banded agate mace heads from the Naqada Period.Kelly Mulford Scrimshaw, Sailors at the Helm on Ancient Inuit Fossil Walrus Ivory Tool, 1989. Estimate: $1,600 - $2,250.
Best Photos of the Day
Mojave Netted Beadwork Collar, Glass Beads. Native American, Southwestern United States, Mojave. Native American, Southwestern United States, Mojave, ca. mid-20th century CE. A netted beadwork collar worked in cobalt-blue and opaque white glass seed beads, fanning from a fitted neckline into a wide capelet. The geometric field alternates blocks, diamonds, and open-loop motifs, finished at the hem with a fringe of dangling beaded strands tipped in white. Estimate: $3,000 - $4,500.
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Brian Hamill, 'Arms Folded' John Lennon, The Dakota, NYC, 1975. Brian Hamill (American, XX-XXI). Arms FoldedJohn Lennon, The Dakota Rooftop, New York. Pigment print, February 1975. Edition 9 of 25. Signed and numbered in pencil at lower right, also on verso. This limited-edition photograph of John Lennon on the rooftop of the Dakota, where he lived with Yoko Ono, was taken by photographer Brian Hamill—brother of actor Mark Hamill—in 1975. Estimate: $3,000 - $4,500.
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William Holmes "The Grand Canon at the foot of the Toroweap - Looking East" (1882). William H. Holmes (American, 1846-1933). "The Grand Canon at the foot of the Toroweap - Looking East," chromolithograph, , printed by Julius Bien and Co., New York, 1882. Published in: Clarence E. Dutton, "Tertiary History of the Grand Canon District, with Atlas." United States Geological Survey Monograph II. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1882. Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000.
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19th C. Thai / Khmer Lacquered Ceremonial Hat, Relief Scrollwork, Stupa Form. Southeast Asia, Thailand / Cambodia, ca. 19th to early 20th century CE. A ceremonial conical hat composed of woven palm-leaf cane fronds coated with a thick lacquered surface - black covered with red oxide pigments. The exterior is richly ornamented with applied low-relief motifs in gesso - beaded scrolls, loops, and spirals - arranged in concentric registers that encircle the brim and ascend the tapering crown. Estimate: $6,000 - $9,000.
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Massive Native American Woodlands Porphyry Axe Head. Native American, Eastern Woodlands, Illinois, Jersey Bluff Peoples near Alton, ca. 1000 BCE. Massive! Woodlands era stone axe with three-quarter groove. Painstakingly pecked (pecking still evident) then polished. I know you are all thinking this is too large to be authentic. This example is not even the largest example known. Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500.
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19th C. Tibetan Buddhist Thangka | Wrathful Yamantaka with Deities and Lamas. Central Asia, Tibet, ca. 19th century CE. A large and vibrantly painted thangka depicting Yamantaka, the wrathful manifestation of Manjushri, surrounded by a halo of flames and encircled by numerous deities and attendants. Estimate: $2,200 - $3,300.
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Kenny Scharf Silksreen - "Acid Rain" (1988). Kenny Scharf (American, b. 1958). "Acid Rain" silkscreen in colors, 1988. Edition 36 of 150. Signed, numbered, and dated in pencil at lower right. Blindstamp at lower left. Printed by Rupert Jason Smith Studios, NY. Kenny Scharf's "Acid Rain" presents an imaginary view featuring an abstract cityscape, prominent drops presumably of acid rain, and bizarre cartoonish flora with overgrown vines and berries, all rendered in Scharf's signature colorful palette and bold style. Estimate: $1,500 - $2,250.
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Egyptian Almandine Garnet Frog Amulet Bead. North Africa, Egypt, Late Period to Roman period. A miniature frog amulet carved from deep wine-red almandine garnet. The frog crouches compactly, as if ready to leap from a riverbank. Its hind legs are folded in neat, angular planes against the flanks, and its forelegs are tucked beneath a wedge-shaped head. Estimate: $800 - $1,200.
Best Photos of the Day
Two Egyptian Predynastic Limestone Mace Heads, Naqada Period. North Africa, Egypt, Predynastic period, Naqada culture. A pair of hand-worked limestone mace heads, each cut to the piriform (pear-shaped) profile that defines late Predynastic Egyptian weaponry. Both taper from a broad, rounded striking crown to a narrower base, and each is pierced through its axis with a tapering socket for a wooden haft, the drill marks still legible at the mouth. Estimate: $1,200 - $1,800.