Hollow-formed cross fragment with low-relief ornament; obverse with facing veiled female bust within a ropework tondo, cruciform design to the lower arm and second tondo with facing bearded bust, foliage to the lateral arms; reverse with geometric saltire bands; knop finials to the arms (two present) and slots for attachment of additional features. 153 grams, 13.8 cm

with Rupert Wace Ltd.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.

Sheet-silver female figure with tall lobed headdress, domed knees, breasts and navel, loincloth, parallel legs and tang beneath the feet; applied wire collar; the face with triangular nose and two pellet eyes; left arm detached in two pieces, with old repair. 32.1 grams total, 1.7-12.7 cm

UK private collection, formed in the 1980s.
with Bonhams, London, 24 October 2012, no.271 (£8,000-£10,000).

Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonham's catalogue pages.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12532-231395.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

A large flat-section figure with curled arms, spread legs, lobed head; mounted on a custom-made stand. 3.24 kg total, 36.3 cm wide

Private English collection, 1950s, and kept in England.
Ex Atigh Gallery, pre-1986.
with Aaron Gallery, acquired from the above.

Accompanied by a copy of the 1986 invoice from Atigh Gallery.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12492-230324.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

See Yule, P., The Bronze Age Metalwork of India, Prähistorische Bronzefunde XX, München, 1985, pl.II, no.239, for discussion.

A cluster of copper artefacts dating to 1500-1000 B.C. was found in the Indo-Gangetic plains (region of Uttar Pradesh), including a number of anthropomorphic figures with downwards curving arms, dome-shaped heads, and spread legs. They were cast in moulds and then hammered with often discernible chisel marks. They can be divided in several distinct categories based on their characteristics, and it has been suggested that these idols functioned as protective guardian spirits.

Columnar in form with rounded facial features, bisected headdress, incised saltire to the upper body and belt to the waist, arms bent and raised with flat hands; tang at base. 315 grams, 16 cm

Acquired before 1983.
Ex London gallery, 1990s.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12534-231951.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Aruz, J., Art of the First Cities. The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, New York, 2003, item 82, for type.

Modelled in the round figure of a camel with head raised and legs folded beneath the body. 163 grams, 56 mm

Acquired before 1983.
Ex London gallery, 1990s.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Standing nude female with elaborate hairstyle, earring and collar. 166 grams, 19.3 cm

Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
London, UK, collection.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

D-shaped in profile with rounded attachment loop, rectangular body with low-relief carving to each face: Side A, pair of opposed zebu on a field with palm tree and scorpions above; Side B, oasis with three palm trees, scorpions above. 3.9 kg, 22.5 cm high

with Gallery Rosen Ancient Art, Tel Aviv, 1968.
Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
London, UK, collection.

Accompanied by a copy of an original certificate of authenticity from Gallery Rosen Ancient Art, 19 June 1968.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12535-230402.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

C.f. 7000 years of Iranian Art, Exhibition catalogue, Smithsonian Institute, 1964, p.54 & p.118, illustration no.11.

Drum-shaped with squared rim, sidewall with reserved decoration in three registers, hatched panels to the rim above stepped geometric forms above vertical ribbing. 305 grams, 85 mm wide

Acquired before 1983.
Ex London gallery, 1990s.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Aruz, J. ed., Art Of The First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2003, p.326, for similar.

An Aramaean rectangular dish with sloping sides, an inward-facing goat-head at each corner; handle formed as a recumbent lion biting the rim; each beast with recessed eyes to accept inserts; ropework band to the underside. 698 grams, 22 cm

Windermere Collection, Germany, 1960s.
American collection, Phillips, 1960s-1980s.
with Fortuna Fine Arts, 2012.
From the S.M. collection, 2012-2016.
From an important London collection, 2016.
Private collection.

Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00118561.
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.12164-218579.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Cf. Settgast, J.,Von Troja bis Amarna, The Norbert Schimmel Collection, Mainz, 1978, no.146, for a vessel with similar lion heads; Moorey, P.R.S., Bunker, E.C., Porada, E., and Markoe, G., Ancient Bronzes Ceramics and Seals, The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection of Ancient Near Eastern, Central Asiatic and European Art, Los Angeles, 1981, cat.1305, for similar vessel with lion head biting the rim, carved in steatite.

The Aramean civilisation produced superb specimens of vessels, in which the lion, symbol of royal power, was one of the most relevant decorative motifs. Vessels of this typology are already known from the Anatolian culture of Kültepe, the first Hittite capital, since the Middle Bronze Age. Also the culture of Ugarit (Ras Shamarra) produced cups with similar lion heads, in a period of 1500 and 1300 B.C.

Carved in the round with gusseted rim, shallow bowl with carved hand and arm detail to each side and cruciform segmented bands to the underside; lion-head carved in the round to the rear with segmented mane, sockets to the eyes and gaping mouth with hole for pouring liquids through the tubular junction to the rear, repaired. 357 grams, 11.3 cm

Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.

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.12193-222189.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

For discussion of similar pieces c.f. Merhav (ed.), A Glimpse into the past: The Joseph Tembach Collection, Jerusalem, 1981, p.62, fig.37; and Settgast, J., Von Troja bis Amarna, The Norbert Schimmel Collection, Mainz, 1978, no.146, for a vessel with similar lion heads; Moorey, P.R.S., Bunker, E.C., Porada, E., and Markoe, G., Ancient Bronzes Ceramics and Seals, The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection of Ancient Near Eastern, Central Asiatic and European Art, Los Angeles, 1981, cat.1305, for similar vessel with lion head biting the rim, carved in steatite; Fortin, M., Syrie, terre de civilisations, Québec, 1999, p.195, no.160, for a lion’s head shaped cup from Ugarit.