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David Aaron

@davidaaronarts

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London gallery specialising in ancient Classical, Egyptian, Near Eastern, early Islamic art and natural history

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Presenting David Aaron at Frieze Masters 2026.

Following a successful day of sales at the preview, we’re pleased to welcome visitors to our 2026 Frieze Masters presentation.

Exploring enduring symbols of power, faith and survival, the exhibition brings together Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Near Eastern antiquities alongside remarkable natural history specimens.

Highlights include an Egyptian wooden offering bearer with beautifully preserved polychrome, a marble Cycladic head dating to circa 2600–2400 BC and a Roman marble Crouching Venus from the late 1st–early 2nd century AD.

Alongside these ancient works, an exceptionally complete, 150-million-year-old Camarasaurus supremus skull retains an Allosaurus tooth embedded in its lower jaw, preserving physical evidence of an encounter between a giant herbivore and one of the apex predators of the Late Jurassic.

We look forward to welcoming you to stand C02 until Sunday 18 October.

@friezeofficial #FriezeMasters
📍 The Regent’s Park, London
📅 14–18 October 2026
🔎 Stand C02

Image credit: Yosuke Kojima | @_yosukekojima by @davidaaronarts

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5 days ago

Introducing the David Aaron 2026 catalogue.

From an Egyptian offering bearer still retaining its ancient colour, to an elegant Roman statue of a crouching Venus, to a Camarasaurus skull with an allosaurus tooth stuck in its skull, our latest catalogue explores the histories of the remarkable objects we have handled this year.

It also marks significant museum acquisitions, including an Enigmacursor skeleton by the Natural History Museum and a Luristan axe by the Louvre.

View the catalogue via our website, or link in bio. Selected works will be on display at Frieze Masters from tomorrow. by @davidaaronarts

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7 days ago

An encounter between a giant herbivore and an apex predator, preserved for 150 million years.

At Frieze Masters 2026, David Aaron will present an exceptionally complete skull of a Camarasaurus supremus, a dinosaur that roamed North America during the Late Jurassic.

Sauropod skulls are exceptionally rare, owing to the fragility of their cranial bones. This specimen is particularly remarkable not only for its preservation, but for an extraordinary detail: an Allosaurus tooth embedded in its lower jaw, offering physical evidence of an encounter with one of the dominant predators of the Jurassic ecosystem.

Discover this exceptional specimen at Frieze Masters next week.

@friezeofficial #Frieze

📍 The Regent's Park, London
📆 14–18 October 2026
🔎 Stand C02 by @davidaaronarts

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12 days ago

Venus's delicate beauty on display at Frieze

Taking a central position in our presentation at Frieze Masters, the sculpture of Venus in a crouching pose is subtly carved to evoke the supple softness of the goddess’s figure. The gentle folds of her form establish a physical sensuality appropriate for of the goddess of love.

Discover more about the Crouching Venus statue's history here.

@friezeofficial #FriezeMasters
📍 The Regent's Park, London
📅 14–18 October 2026
🔎 Stand C02 by @davidaaronarts

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22 days ago

Venus – an enduring symbol of divine beauty

At Frieze Masters David Aaron will present a Roman marble Venus sculpture, dated to the Late 1st Century-Early 2nd Century AD, in the much-imitated 'Crouching Aphrodite' or ‘Venus of Vienna’ pose, derived from a celebrated Hellenistic sculpture attributed to Doedalsas of Bithynia.

Across history the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation has been elevated as an icon of mythology and idealised symbol of beauty. Here we explore artistic expressions of Venus ahead of the presentation of this marble sculpture at Frieze Masters this October.

@friezeofficial #FriezeMasters
📍 The Regent's Park, London
📅 14–18 October 2026
🔎 Stand C02 by @davidaaronarts

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a month ago

The wooden Statue of a Female Offering Bearer offers insight into the diverse practices of creative communities in 20th-century Paris, having been handled by a master Japanese craftsman Kichizô Inagaki, followed by French art-historian, museologist and critic Madeleine Rousseau

A highlight of our upcoming Frieze Masters presentation, this Statue exemplifies the level of credible provenance documentation required to exhibit at the highly vetted fair.

We look forward to sharing this object, alongside other impeccable pieces of antiquity at the Fair.

@friezeofficial #FriezeMasters
📍 The Regent's Park, London
📅 14–18 October 2026
🔎 Stand C02 by @davidaaronarts

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2 months ago

This Frieze Masters, David Aaron's presentation will explore expressions of power, faith, and survival across time. For this we looked to ancient Egyptian society, where representations of belief systems held weight in life and death, with finely crafted objects playing an important role in the transitional period to the afterlife.

This striking wooden Statue of a Female Offering Bearer dates to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, Late 11th - Early 12th Dynasty, and likely would have been placed in burial chambers or on top of coffins to act as the personification of estates, ensuring a perpetual supply of food and provisions for the deceased in their next world.

What makes this piece exceptionally rare is the preservation of its vibrant and detailed polychrome painting. From her rich black tripartite wig to the deep greenish-blue ribbons tied under her dress, she provides an incredible, vivid window into ancient craftsmanship.

Scroll through to discover the incredible preservation of this piece through antiquity.

The wooden offering bearer will be on display at our Frieze Masters stand from 14–18 October 2026.

@friezeofficial #FriezeMasters
📍 The Regent's Park, London
📅 14–18 October 2026
🔎 Stand C02 by @davidaaronarts

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2 months ago

Announcing our presentation for Frieze Masters 2026: This year David Aaron will present museum-quality pieces exploring how power, faith, and survival have been expressed across millennia - from prehistoric giants to the divine authority of ancient Egyptian rulers and the enduring symbolism of the Roman Empire.

Presented at stand C02 from 14–18 October 2026, our display bridges the vast expanse of deep time, bringing exceptional antiquities into dialogue with rare natural history specimens, dating back 68 million years.

Spanning bronze Corinthian helmets, monumental Egyptian sculptures, Roman marbles, and dinosaur fossils, this presentation illuminates the universal impulse to project permanence.

Over the coming weeks, we will share details of the historical significance, provenance, and stories behind the highlight pieces from our fair display.

@friezeofficial #FriezeMasters
📍 The Regent's Park, London
📅 14–18 October 2026
🔎 Stand C02

Styling @laura_fulmine
Photography @attear by @davidaaronarts

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2 months ago

David Aaron recently sold a finely modelled bronze statuette of the cat Bastet dating to the Late Period of Egypt (664–332 BC). Standing at a subtle 17 cm tall, the figure showcases the naturalistic detail typical of the Saite Period and features a beautiful black patina.

The statuette represents the goddess Bastet in her iconic domestic cat form. Cats were the sacred animal of Bastet – originally a lion-headed goddess, who eventually came to be depicted as a woman with the head of a cat or simply as a cat. Bastet was a protector of Lower Egypt, defender of the pharaoh and the sun-god Ra, and served as the gentler counterpart of the warrior goddess Sekhmet.

Bastet was a goddess of fertility and childbirth who protected against contagious diseases and evil spirits. Many bronze cat statuettes were dedicated to Bastet in temples throughout Egypt, especially in the city of Bubastis, which was home to a large population of cats who were cared for by Bastet’s devotees.

This piece carries a distinguished provenance, tracing back to prominent European collectors from the 19th and 20th centuries: it was owned by Adolphe Raifé, a renowned Parisian collector whose antiquities were studied by leading archaeologists; followed by Julien Bessonneau, an industrialist and mayor from Angers, whose collection remained a family legacy for decades. Finally, Jean-Pierre Léveilley acquired the statuette in the late 20th century, and it remained in his collection until arriving at David Aaron. by @davidaaronarts

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3 months ago

Before The Odyssey, there was Troy

To mark the release of Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film, The Odyssey, we are diving into the brutal world of Homeric legend. But before Odysseus began his perilous journey home from the Trojan War, the battlefields of Troy witnessed the ultimate clash of titans.

Currently on display in our Mayfair showroom is a rare Figurative Dagger Hilt of Achilles, dating to the 1st–2nd Century A.D., immortalising this epic duel.

The Roman bronze hilt (handle) captures the conclusion to an iconic fight in Homer's Iliad: a grief-stricken Achilles dragging the body of the defeated Trojan Prince, Hector.

Discover the details behind the expert craftmanship employed to tell this epic tale.

Across creative disciplines, from film to Roman antiquities, you can admire centuries of monumental mythical tales. by @davidaaronarts

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3 months ago

Meet the world’s newest mystery predator

Is it an Allosaurus? A Marshosaurus? Or something entirely new?

‘Juliasaurus’ shares traits with known Late Jurassic predators, but its unique anatomy has paleontologists wondering if this could be a new species.

The loan to Hollytrees Museum will coincide with the first opportunity to conduct research on the fossil in November 2027 when the exhibition concludes. by @davidaaronarts

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3 months ago

David Aaron is proud to announce the recent sale of an extraordinary 15th-century alabaster tomb-top element for a cenotaph to a major North American museum. The acquisition underscores the historical significance and rare beauty of this Timurid-era masterpiece.

Dated 20 Safar 893 AH (4 February 1488 AD), this exquisitely carved tomb element was created for a cenotaph honouring a high-ranking military person, described in the Persian inscriptions as a “lord of the battlefield”. The Persian text around the edge of the tomb contains prayers for the deceased and the date of their death. The upper surface features masterful Arabic thuluth calligraphy and a central niche decorated with a flowering mandorla, a hallmark of the sophisticated artistry found in 15th-century Samarkand and Herat.

Importantly this artwork is accompanied by an illustrious documented and published provenance chronology that can be traced back to the moment it was rediscovered prior to 1912 in Santarém, Portugal. The artwork was found repurposed within the threshold of a courtyard niche in a domestic home. It is likely to have been brought from the East by a Portuguese merchant during the early centuries of maritime trade between Portugal, Iran, and India.

The object has been the subject of scholarly study for decades, with its inscriptions first deciphered by famous orientalist Henri Massé who recorded them in a document dated 8 March 1941.

The institutional placement ensures its preservation and study for generations to come. by @davidaaronarts

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4 months ago