Hollow-formed head of a bull with short curved horns, large bulbous eyes, lateral scooped ears, short muzzle with flared nostrils, dewlap beneath; possibly from a rhyton; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 1.3 kg total, 22 cm high including standExcellent condition, very rare.

Acquired between 1980-1983.
From the collection of a London, UK, gentleman.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12019-213616.

See Ebbinghaus, S., (ed.), Animal-Shaped Vessels From The Ancient World, Feasting With Gods, Heroes, and Kings, Cambridge Massachusetts, 2019, for discussion and comparable examples; cf. also the Walters Art Museum, inventory no.54.791; cf. similar item in ceramic in the collection of Rhode Island Museum under accession no.26.166.

The rhyton was dipped into a krater and held above the drinker's mouth with the spout covered by a thumb, then opened to release a stream of wine into the mouth. The bull was a symbol of man’s control over the nature. Not only were these heads used to serve wine in the banquets, but they were also destined to hold blood from sacrificial animals, that was collected and then poured on the ground as a libation.

Squat bowl of carinated profile with basal ring; burnished inner face with painted design of leaves and tendrils. 82 grams, 10.5 cm diameter

From an important collection of Nabataean pottery formed before 1988.

With D-section wall and shallow discoid foot, ornamented with a procession of three lions seated right in relief around the shoulder; remains of lug handle. 317 grams, 10.2 cm wideFine condition.

Acquired before 1983.
Ex London gallery, 1990s.

Cf. Müller-Karpe, M., Metallgefässe im Iraq I (Von den Anfängen bis zur Akkad-Zeit), Stuttgart, 1993, p.86 ss. (forme 11, I), pp.235-237, no.1588, pl.142.; cf. Van Ess, M. and Pedde, F., Uruk, Kleinfunde II, Mainz on Rhine, 1992, p.18, no.109, pl.19.

With a dynamic scene depicting a Shah on horseback shooting arrows from his bow; a leaping quadruped with an arrow through its neck racing in front of the galloping stocky horse; a fallen boar with an arrow on its back laying on the foreground, and another large boar charging towards the horse on the upper field; a hunting dog on the lower field and a pair of birds behind the horse; the king wearing a crown and mantle, a scabbard hanging from his waist; low foot to base; repaired. 505 grams, 21.3 cm wide

Private US collection, kept in Switzerland, since the 1960s.

Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00122910.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12023-214175.

Cf. Erdmann, K., ‘Die Entwicklung der sāsānidischen Krone’ in Ars Islamica volume 15-16, pp.87-123; Godard, A., The art of Iran, Paris, 1962; Ghirsman, R., Persian Art. The Parthian and Sassanian Dynasties, New York, 1962; Harper, O., Meyers P., Silver Vessels of the Sasanian period, volume I: Royal Imaginery, New York, 1981; Nicolle, D., Sassanian Armies, The Iranian Empire early 3rd to mid-7th centuries AD, Stockport, 1996.

Various are the parallels for this scene, visible on many silver plates of Sassanian and Post-Sassanian periods. Good parallels can be found with plates in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Peroz or Kavad I hunting rams, Harper & Meyers,1981, p.XII, pl.17), in the Museum fur Islamische Künst, Berlin (King hunting, Harper & Meyers,1981, pl.20) and especially with the silver-gilt plate from Nizhne Shakharovka (king hunting boars, Harper & Meyers, 1981, pl.32).

A high quality bowl raised from a single sheet with round base and an inverted rim. 370 grams, 15.5 cm

Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12066-214195.

With thick hoop and opposed animal-heads to the reverse, large ellipsoid bezel with incuse winged bull motif. 34 grams, 30.15 mm overall, 22 x 20.4 mm internal diameter (approximate size British T 1/2, USA 9 3/4, Europe 21.89, Japan 21)

with Pierre Bergé & Associés, Paris, 23 April 2001, no.297 (part).
Acquired by an important European family collection.

Accompanied by copies of the relevant Pierre Bergé & Associés catalogue pages.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12055-213660.

Cf. Muscarella, Oscar White, Bronze and Iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, item no.292.

Comprising two halves decorated in chased low relief, each half with a standing winged figure dressed in long embroidered tunic, holding a stylised snake(?) in the raised hand, the other hand extended along the wing; the left side with three attachment hooks and the right side with a perforated plaque with two lines of holes providing the possibility of extending the belt. 191 grams total, 80 mm eachNice bronze patina with small scratches on the surface, antique deformations

Acquired prior to 2000.
British private collection of Mr D.M., London, UK.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11753-202365.

Cf. Curtis, J., An Examination of Late Assyrian Metalwork with Special Reference to Nimrud, Oxford, 2013, pls.LXff., for similar decorative patterns on bronze openwork panels; Aruz, J., Seymour, M., Assyria to Iberia, Art and Culture in the Iron Age, New Haven-London, 2016, fig.5, p.159, for an ivory plaque.

The genii symbolised both protection and fertility - their role was to safeguard and replenish the ancient kingdom of Assyria and therefore, on a personal buckle, the wearer of the belt. The representation of divine genii upon a belt plaque provided a link with the king and with the royal family, and it could be that such a belt was worn by important dignitaries, although the structure of the belt and its composition exclude the possibility of military use.

Still sealed and complete and in exceptional condition, a solid example with the entire scroll within available for conservation unrolling. 298 grams, 62 mm

From the property of the late Mr SM, London, UK, 1969-1999.

With a keeled hoop and openwork shield-shaped shoulder with scroll ornament, a diamond-shaped shield with a cross to the base of the hoop; large bezel with an applied stylised bird underneath, the sides with pellet ornament in three rows, four claws holding the 4th-5th century Sassanian intaglio depicting a boar devouring the leg of its prey. 8.63 grams, 25.72 mm overall, 18.95 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P 1/2, USA 7 3/4, Europe 16.86, Japan 16)

Private collection, USA, acquired in the 1990s.

Accompanied by a copy of a previous cataloguing information page.

Cf. Wenzel, M., Ornament & Amulet. Rings of the Islamic Lands (The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art), London, 1993, no.292, for a silver ring of similar design.

It was a fairly common practice to re-use Sassanian intaglios in Islamic rings from Iran. In Eastern cultures the boar was a sacred animal with magical powers.

Each a hoop extending between two conical wound-wire bosses above a cluster of granules, carinated shank below with third cluster beneath; one loop replaced. 17.48 grams total, 26-27 mm

From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s.

Mixed group of tubular and other beads, coils, end-caps and other items. 10.03 grams total, 1-11 mm

From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s.

With ornamented D-section hoop expanding towards the shoulders, domed plaque below and shield-like waisted shoulders with scrollwork and plinth-shaped support with S-scrolls framing the central plaque with Arabic inscription 'Hassan/ Aundt'. 13.16 grams, 21.68 mm overall, 17.01 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M 1/2, USA 6 1/4, Europe 13.09, Japan 12)

From a French private collection, circa 1960s.
Acquired from a private collection in the early 1990s.
Property of a North American gallery.

Accompanied by a copy of a previous cataloguing information page.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12103-214334.

Cf. Wenzel, M., Ornament and Amulet: Rings of the Islamic Lands (The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art), London, 1993, nos. 211 and 279, for similar design; see also Content, D. (ed.), Islamic Rings & Gems. The Zucker Collection, London, 1987, no.28.