Achaemenid Banded Agate Elbow Bead

With broad base and deep everted sidewall. 194 grams, 17 cm



From the collection of North West London, UK, gentleman, 1990-2000s.

A stone frieze with four lines of large cuneiform text accompanied by documentation to support that this a section from the annals of King Ashurnasirpal II: 'Ashurnasirpal (II), great king, mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Tukulti-Ninurta (II), great king, mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Adad-nirari (II), great king, mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, valiant man, who acts with the support of the weapons of Assur, his lord, who has no equal among the princes of the four regions, king who has subdued (the territories extending) from the opposite bank of the Tigris to Mount Lebanon and the Great Sea, the entire land of Laqû, the land of Suhu as far as the city of Rapiqu. He conquered the sources of the Subnat river as far as the land of Nirbu…'; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 2.85 kg total, 36.5 cm wide including stand



Belgian private collection, acquired before 1960, and thence by descent to the collector's widow. with Mrs Drees (?), Brussels, acquired from the widow of the above, 2004. with Pierre Bergé & Associés, Paris, 28 October 2006, lot 219. with Gorny & Mosch, Munich, 12 December 2023, lot 416. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13369-258955.

Most of the reliefs and inscriptions of this king are in the British Museum and Louvre. Further holdings are in the New York Historical Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University. They celebrated the glory of the Assyrians at the apogee of their Empire.

Flat-based bowl, inscribed in spiral from the bottom inner wall to the rim with Aramaic text. 360 grams, 17.6 cm



Private collection, 1980s. UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK

Aramaic incantation bowls are particular to the Sasanian period and have been found in the regions of modern Iraq. These simple ceramic bowls, also known as magic bowls, each contain an Aramaic inscription, written in ink, which spirals from the centre. The bowls seem to have played an important part in domestic life. For example, during excavation in Nippur in 1889, one or more incantation bowls were found in each house together with domestic artefacts, most often in doorways or under floorboards in the corner of rooms. The bowls are predominantly apotropaic, and the inscriptions tend to protect their owners from misfortunes such as childbirth, illness and evil spirits.