All shook up by £1m antiquities auction

Published on Wednesday 23 July 2008 00:44

A 2,000-YEAR-OLD Roman bust – known as Elvis because of its strong resemblance to the King of rock and roll – is part of a £1 million collection of antiquities which is about to come to auction.

The artefact dates back as far as 400 BC and is an authentic acroterion – a form of architectural ornament often used as decoration on the corners of a sarcophagus, a stone tomb or burial chamber where the most important Romans were laid to rest.

The bust – a portrait of an unknown Roman – is part of one of the world's most stunning private collections of ancient art, which is coming up for public auction at Bonham's in London in October.

The 150 lots, which once belonged to the Australian collector Graham Geddes, include rare Greek and Roman vases and marble reliefs portraying battle scenes. Many of these items will sell for anything up to 90,000 each.

A spokesman for Bonhams said: "It is perhaps the strangest item in the sale, certainly to modern eyes.

"The likeness is so great that Graham Geddes, the collector himself, calls the carving Elvis."