Ancient World & Classical Antiquities

The Ancient World collection extends the reach of Gary Hendershott's expertise beyond American history into the deep past of human civilization. Anchored by an extensive Alexander the Great sub-collection including a Graeco-Egyptian marble portrait head dating to the 3rd century BC, this assemblage bridges the ancient Mediterranean world with the Pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas. Gary has handled a Mayan jade portrait mask of King Pakal the Great (ca. 600 AD), a Mayan priestess statue (ca. 900 AD), an Egyptian pharaoh limestone sarcophagus from the time of Moses at Luxor (ca. 1200 BC), and Greek body armor from the classical period.

The Pre-Columbian collection is particularly extraordinary: gold Sinu tribe treasures including jaguar headdresses and pectoral ornaments from the Lower Caribbean (ca. 1000 AD), a gold crown weighing 1,200 grams — the largest gold artwork of ancient America (ca. 300 AD), Quimbaya full standing gold shamans, Mayan jade plaques worn by powerful kings a thousand years before Columbus, and Inca tunics from the Upper Andes. The collection also includes a black marble female mask from Teotihuacan (ca. 200 AD), Aztec temple urns, and Mayan ball court markers from the civilization that invented the ball game.

This collection appeals to those who see history as a continuous thread — collectors who understand that the gold pectoral of a Sinu shaman and the marble portrait of Alexander the Great are part of the same unbroken story of human ambition, artistry, and the drive to create objects of enduring beauty and power.