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LOT 0255
Achaemenid Gold Ring with Agate Bull
CIRCA 500 B.C.
1 in. (4.71 grams, 27.98 mm overall, 19.07 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)).
Comprising a round-section swivel ring set with a carved Apis bull depicted recumbent with its head turned to the right.
ProvenancePrivate collection, UK.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12939-245988.
For similar see Musée du Louvre, Paris: AF 11092 and N 2090; The British Museum: 1947,1011.2 and 1918,0411.15; Metropolitan Museum of Art: 30.8.418, and the Fitzwilliam Museum: E.GA.21.1947.
FootnotesThe Apis bull was a sacred animal in ancient Egyptian religion, worshipped as a living manifestation of the god Ptah and later associated with Osiris and Ra. Regarded as an intermediary between the gods and humanity, the Apis bull was chosen based on specific physical characteristics, such as a black coat with unique white markings. Once identified, it was housed in a grand temple in Memphis, where it was treated with great reverence, adorned with jewellery, and participated in important religious ceremonies. Upon its death, the bull underwent elaborate mummification and burial rituals, symbolising its transition to the afterlife and its continued divine role. The cult of the Apis bull highlights the Egyptians’ deep connection to animals as symbols of divine power and their belief in the interconnectedness of the mortal and spiritual worlds.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0255
Achaemenid Gold Ring with Agate Bull
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000€5,800 - 8,120 (for guidance only)$6,750 - 9,450 (for guidance only)
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West Central Asian Bronze Stamp Seal with Horned Beast
Circa 2300-2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Zoomorphic stamp with loop handle to the reverse; accompanied by an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Stamp Seal of Bronze. 27.5x35x13 mm. This bears the shape of what is depicted. The face is flat and compartmented, and the back is flat also with look of sheet metal for suspension. The design shows the face of a horned quadruped frontally, with drooping ears and stout horns, but with one big central eye. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-2000 B.C. It is a rare design and in good condition.' 12.5 grams, 31 mm
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Ex property of a West London businessman. Academically researched and catalogued by the late Professor Lambert in the early 1990s. -
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From the collection of a late Japanese gentleman, 1970-2000s. -
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