If there was ever a 'golden age' for collecting antiquities, it was the latter half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th Centuries. During this period there were active and open markets in source countries and collecting antiquities was seen as a worthy and legitimate pursuit for men and women of culture and intellect. In 1924, capitalising on the great interest generated by the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, the London dealer Spink & Son (at the time the foremost antiquity dealer in Britain) published a catalogue of Egyptian antiquities containing many fine pieces from the MacGregor, Hilton Price, Amherst, Meux and Carnarvon Collections. What is astounding about this collection is not only the quality of the artefacts offered for sale but the relative cheapness of the pieces, compared to what they would fetch at auction today.We have used a recognised online inflation calculator to determine what the prices in 1924 would be equivalent to today. These figures prove not only what remarkable investments good quality antiquities have been over the last century but also give an insight into how relatively easy it was for rich collectors to assemble large and diverse collections in the early years of the 20th Century. Today, with quality antiquities fetching tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds at auction, we can only envy past generations of collectors and the superb artworks available to them for what seem to have been relatively modest sums.
Below we reproduce the catalogue in its entirety. The prices shown included delivery to anywhere in the world.
A superb marriage scarab of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy from the MacGregor Collection (£55 in 1924, equivalent to £3,353 in 2020)
Faience vessel, a plaque and amulets (and a possibly questionable fish) (£2 - £12 in 1924, equivalent to £120 - £730 in 2020)
A stunning green basalt bust from the Amherst Collection (£250 in 1924, equivalent to £15,250 in 2020)
Some rather odd alabaster vessels and a faience sistrum handle and plaque, all ex MacGregor Collection (£4 - £35 in 1924, equivalent to £240 - £2000 in 2020)
Restored Meroitic vessels and ornate faience vases, all ex MacGregor Collection (£5 - £45 in 1924, equivalent to £300 - £2,740 in 2020)
Exquisite limestone stele, both ex Henry Spicer Collection (£15 - £35 in 1924, equivalent to £900 - £2100 in 2020)
A painted limestone figure of a man and part of an inscribed wooden Tet amulet, ex MacGregor and Amherst Collections (£2 - £25 in 1924, equivalent to £120 - £1,500 in 2020)
A full-sized painted cedar wood coffin, ex MacGregor Collection (£16 in 1924, equivalent to only £975 in 2020)
Bronze figures of deities (£23 - £60 in 1924, equivalent to £1,400 - £3650 in 2020)
A wild cattle-hunt scarab of Amenhotep III (£300 in 1924, equivalent to £18,300 in 2020)
Some fine bronzes (£5 - £30 in 1924, equivalent to £300 - £1,800 in 2020)
A large and fine bronze cat (£400 in 1924, equivalent to £24,000 in 2020)
Some fine animal bronzes (£5 - £13 in 1924, equivalent to £300 - £800 in 2020)
Fine bronze plaques, the right ex MacGregor Collection (£22 - £100 in 1924, equivalent to £1,350 - £6,000 in 2020)
Fine bronze figure of deity, ex McCormick Collection (£85 in 1924, equivalent to £5,000 in 2020)
Faience hippopotamus (ex McGregor Collection), triad, rings and gold rings (£3 10s - £12 in 1924, equivalent to £200 - £730 in 2020)
Wooden funerary boat and fine wooden figures, ex MacGregor and Amherst Collections (£15 - £150 in 1924, equivalent to £900 - £9,000 in 2020)
Carved fragments with text and limestone figure, ex MacGregor and Greenfell Collections (£5 - £30 in 1924, equivalent to £300 - £1,800 in 2020)
Scarab, amulet and bead necklaces (£8 - £20 in 1924, equivalent to £490 - £1200 in 2020)
Fine bronze figures and aegis, ex Amherst, Hilton Price and Millord Collections (£15 - £28 in 1924, equivalent to £900 - £1,700 in 2020)
Fine bronze figures of deities (£6 - £140 in 1924, equivalent to £360 - £8,500 in 2020)
More fine bronzes (£35 - £85 in 1924, equivalent to £2,100 - £5,000 in 2020)
Stone and plaster busts and a steatite figure, ex MacGregor, Lampson and Kennedy Collections (£13 - £25 in 1924, equivalent to £800 - £1,500 in 2020)
Assyrian reliefs, both from Hormuz, Iran (£55 each in 1924, equivalent to £3,350 in 2020)
