Achaemenid Bronze Phiale

Bulbous body with four stub legs, tall neck and internal strainer, tall scooped edge to the rim, loop handle to the rear; body and neck painted with geometric motifs, red paint on the base and legs. 1.16 kg, 32.3 cm



UK collection, 1990s. Acquired on the UK art market, before 2000. Private collection, Mr M.V., a London-based businessman.

Artefacts from Amlash date from the late second millennium B.C. through to the Partho-Sasanian period, with most dated to the 9th and 8th centuries B.C. Zoomorphic drinking or ritual vessels are abundant in Amlash pottery and usually feature depictions of animals common to that region. Such vessels have been recovered across Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and they were known as Bibru. They were produced as ceremonial drinking vessels, dedicated to specific deities, but they might also have served as drinking vessels for the social elite and royal family members.

Modelled as a stylised ram with stocky body and short legs, exaggerated head with curving horns and large ears, tubular mouth with remains of the applicator closing the opening. 425 grams, 11.4 cm



Private collection Dr Rudolf and Leonora Blum, Zumikon, Switzerland. with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland.

A restrung string composed of oblate, barrel-shaped and other beads with irregular clear central feature. 45 grams, 37 cm



Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s.