Frank Frazetta - Egyptian Queen - $5.4m

Frank Frazetta. Egyptian Queen Painting, Original Art (1969). Frank Frazetta would continue to produce paintings for another 30 years, but this image captured the hearts of legions and remains burned into the minds of generations. The Egyptian Queen first appeared in print as the cover for Eerie magazine #23 in mid-1969, and countless prints and posters were produced over subsequent decades. The masterpiece resided with the Frazetta family since its creation, and it was the first time it has ever been offered for sale. It made $5.4m on 16th May, 2019.

Worst Roman Emperors

Some Roman emperors reputation for cruelty, excess, and debauchery, enabled by unbridled power at the head of a decadent society, serves as a warning of the pitfalls of absolute power today. Roman emperors had short lifespans after ascending to the throne. Of the 69 emperors from the accession of Augustus to the reign of Theodosius, 43 suffered a violent death.

Tiberius ruled AD 14–37. He sank into morbid suspicion of everyone around him. He retreated to the island of Capri and revived the ancient accusation of maiestas (treason) and used it to sentence to death anyone he desired. Tiberius living on Capri is recorded as a depraved sexual predator. Tiberius Gold Aureus. Lugdunum. AU Strike 5/5 - Surface 3/5. US$11,150

Caligula ruled from 37–41 CE. He became infamous for his extreme feats of carnage. Nero was his nephew. Caligula was cruel, depraved, and insane. In January 41 CE officers of the Praetorian Guard, led by Cassius Chaerea, killed him. Caligula, formally Gaius, Gold Aureus. Rome, A.D. 40. Laureate head of Gaius facing right, Germanicus, Caligula's father who died in A.D. 19, facing right. Au strike 5/5, surface 2/5. US$45,000.

Nero (AD 54 to 68) debased currency and confiscated senators' property and severely taxed to fund his palace, the Domus Aurea. Rome burned for nine days. Its said Nero used the fire to clear space for his palace. Nero blamed the Christians, executing thousands. Nero Gold Aureus. Lugdunum, A.D. 56-8. Nero facing right, VF, Strike 4/5, Surface 2/5. US$10,800.

Domitian (81–96) was fearful and paranoid. Conspiracy theories consumed him, and some were true. He curtailed the Senate and expelled those he deemed unworthy. He executed officials who opposed his policies and confiscated their property. Domitian was assassinated in 96 CE. Domitian Gold Aureus. Rome. Struck AD 90-91. Superb EF. US$29,500.

Commodus (177–192) was cruel, debauched, and a corrupt megalomaniac who viewed himself as reincarnated Greek gods. He too devalued Roman currency mercilessly, instituting the largest drop in value since Nero. Commodus Gold Aureus. Rome mint. Struck AD 183. Superb EF US$24,500

Elagabalus (218 to 222). Elagabalus's sin was not bloody, but acting unlike any Emperor. Writers told of his sexual perversion, feminity, bisexuality, and transvestism. Elagabalus Gold Aureus. Slow quadriga moving right, on which is set the conical stone of Emesa. Very rare. Graded NGC Ch VF Strike: 5/5 Surface: 2/5. Graffito. Marks. Bent. US$20,000

Caracalla (AD 211–217) dealt brutally with opponents: he exterminated all of them. Caracalla quickly turned the surplus he inherited from his father into a deficit. He was assassinated by a group of army officers, including Praetorian prefect Opellius Macrinus. Caracalla Gold Aureus. Rome mint. Struck AD 213. Near EF. Extremely rare and important. Caracalla renovated the  Circus Maximus in AD 213, and rare aurei and sestertii were issued to celebrate. This aerial view depicts the Circus as it would be seen from the Palatine Hill. US$140,000

Diocletian (AD 284–305) conducted a ruthless persecution of Christians. Diocletian set about it's total eradication. Churches were destroyed, scriptures burnt, and Christians who refused to give up their faith were tortured and executed. Diocletian Gold Aureus. Grade NGC Ch AU Strike: 5/5 Surface: 4/5, edge marks. US$20,000

Nero's bathtub

Nero's bathtub, better described as a porphyry basin, was commissioned by Nero between 54-68 AD for his Domus Aurea (Golden House).

It was carved from a single, rare slab of Imperial porphyry from Egypt. Imperial Porphyry is a prized, deep purple, volcanic igneous rock with white feldspar crystals, quarried exclusively by the Romans in ancient Egypt at Mons Porphyrites (now Jabal Dokhan).

Discovered around 18 AD by the Roman legionary Caius Cominius Leugas, it became the most prestigious stone for the Roman and Byzantine elite.

At the center of the Pantheon in Rome is a large circle of Imperial porphyry on the floor where, for 300 years, new emperors stood to be crowned. Its immense value comes from the rarity of the purple porphyry and its historical connection to Roman imperial power. The quarry is now depleted, making the artifact irreplaceable. It is now located in the Pio Clementino Museum at the Vatican Museums in Rome.

Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt

Statue of Pharaoh Amenemhet III 19th cent. BC

"Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt," was a major loan exhibition of ancient masterpieces from the British Museum in London that opened March 13, 2016 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. The British Museum famously acquired all the booty gathered by Napoleon after the British defeated the French occupation of Egypt in 1801. The show was meant to reveal both the beauty and meaning of ancient Egyptian art.

Figure of a squatting baboon, about 1391-1353 B.C., Red quartzite. New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III

Kneeling king in pose of jubilation, about 715-332 BC. Late Period. Egypt. Bronze

Kneeling falcon-headed deity in pose of jubilation, about 715-332 BC. Late Period. Egypt. Bronze

Head of Pharaoh Tuthmosis III, about 1479-1425 BC. New Kingdom. Karnak, Thebes, Egypt. Green siltstone

Fragment from the sarcophagus lid of Pharaoh Ramses VI, about 1143-1136 BC. New Kingdom, Dynasty 20, reign of Ramses VI

Shabti of Pharaoh Seti I, about 1294-1279 BC. New Kingdom, Dynasty 19

Figurine of Pharaoh Tuthmosis IV, about 1401-1391 BC. Bronze

Seated statue of Pharaoh Seti II, about 1200-1194 BC. New Kingdom, Dynasty 19

Statue of the god Ra-Horakhty, about 1279-1213. New Kingdom, Dynasty 19

Hathor capital, about 874-850 BC. Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22, reign of Osorkon II. Red granite

Figurine of the god Amun-Ra, about 1069-715 BC. Gilded silver

Figured ostracon: Ramses II suckled by a goddess, about 1279-1213 BC. New Kingdom, Dynasty 19. Painted limestone

Seated statue of Pharaoh Seti II, about 1200-1194 BC. New Kingdom, Dynasty 19, Quartzite sandstone

Bust of Amenhotep III

Tipu Sultan - the Tiger of Mysore

Tipu Sultan (20 November 1750 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the Indian ruler who resisted the East India Company’s conquest of southern India. Opinion in England considered him a vicious tyrant, while modern Indian nationalists hail him as a freedom fighter. A flintlock blunderbuss, built for Tipu Sultan in Srirangapatna, 1793–94.

In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, the combined forces of the British East India Company and the Nizam of Hyderabad defeated Tipu, and he was killed on 4 May 1799 while defending his fort of Srirangapatna.

Tipu's Tiger, c.1790. Made for the amusement of Sultan Tipu; the tiger has a miniature organ with keyboard and bellows to simulate the groans of a dying British officer.

Inscribed Sword of Tipu Sultan. Former liquor magnate Vijay Mallya bought the sword in 2004 but gave it away saying it brought him bad luck.

Cannon used by Tipu Sultan at Srirangapatna in 1799

A gem-set sword bearing the head of a tiger from the armoury of Tipu Sultan headlined a sale at Bonhams. The lot made £2.1m ($3.1m) when it crossed the block in 2014.

A gem-encrusted gold tiger finial from the throne of Tipu Sultan sold for £434,400.

Tipu Sultan ruled a vast swathe of southern India during the 18th century. He fought ferociously against the British East India Company, but was defeated.

'In this world I would rather live two days like a tiger, than two hundred years like a sheep.' - Tipu Sultan

A 3-pounder bronze cannon sold for £1.4m ($2.1m). A flintlock pistol with left-hand lock, made for Tipu Sultan at Seringapatam, dated AD 1797-98.

Inscription on the barrel reads: 'The peerless rifle of the Khusraw of India to which the forked lightning in second can seal the enemy's fate if his forehead is made the target.'

A two shot superimposed-load silver-mounted flintlock from the armoury of Tipu Sultan, dated AD 1793-94. A pair of silver-mounted Flintlock pistols with left and right-hand locks, made for Tipu Sultan, dated AD 1794-95. Sold For: £134,500

A Tipu Sultan sword fitted with a captured English blade.