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LOT 0257
Achaemenid Chalcedony Stamp Seal
CIRCA 530 B.C.
1 1/4 in. (18.4 grams, 32 mm).
Ellipsoid in plan and plano-convex in section, reverse with invocation scene: on a baseline a kilted figure advancing towards an altar with flames, holding a cup and a plate; altar flanked by two crouching winged bulls with human heads; perching eagle to right with amphora; above a winged sun-disc and rectangular object; supplied with a museum-quality impression.
ProvenanceFrom the Fadel family collection, London, UK, 1970s.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12769-237265.
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. a seal with similar characters in Median clothes offering sacrifices to a fire altar in Abdullaev, K., ‘Symbols associated with temples and altars in the Middle East and Iran’ in Parthica, culture del Mondo Antico, Roma, 2019, pp.11-42, fig.14, p.20.
FootnotesThe seal shows elements belonging to the period of the Achaemenid dynasty: the winged solar disc, symbol of the supreme god, Ormadz; the fire altar in the centre, a typically Zoroastrian element. The costume of the offerant is also decidedly Persian, with a short tunic at the knees and trousers of the saravara type.
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AUCTIONS:
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Old Babylonian Haematite Cylinder Seal
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
Frieze depicting a kneeling huntsman with inverted spear and khopesh facing a rampant ibex with head turned away, crouching gryphon with forelegs raised, bird in flight preying on a recumbent ibex; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 3.24 grams, 15 mm
From the 'S' collection, acquired 1970-1990s. The collection was seen and studied by W.G.Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993. 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. -
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Comprising: three large triangular arrowheads with barbed shoulders and rounded midrib. 51 grams total, 9.7-10.5 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex Abelita family 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.
The arrowheads belong to the type V of the Khorasani classification: subtype C, arrowheads with elongated, triangular shape with barbed shoulders and convex sides, and a raised midrib with a sharp central line. These types of arrowheads were commonly used in Anatolia and Mesopotamia from the 2nd millennium B.C., but apparently their employment began earlier in this area, where types like these occur alongside the non-barbed, predominantly ribbed and tanged types. -
Graeco-Persian Bronze Vessel
2nd century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
With broad base and carination below the rim. 365 grams, 13.2 cm wide
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990-2000. 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.
