Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0278
Achaemenid Silver Bowl with Royal Egyptian Inscription for Darius the Great
6TH-5TH CENTURY B.C.
10 1/2 in. (1.23 kg total, 26.7 cm wide including stand).
Bowl fragment including section of the carinated rim, radiating repoussé teardrop bosses with interstitial lotus-flowers motifs and radiating rosette motif below; incised Egyptian hieroglyphic legend below the rim transliterated as 'ı͗nṯry(p sic )wš pr-ꜤꜢ pꜢ ꜤꜢ' (Darius, the Great Pharaoh); mounted on a custom-made stand.
Provenance
Previously in the private collection of Mr S.A, acquired on the London art market in the 1960s.
Accompanied by a copy of a previous illustrated three page cataloguing/report.
Accompanied by a copy of an IADAA Interpol search certificate.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12709-235450.
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.
Literature
Cf. Posener, G., La première domination Perse en Égypte, Bibliothèque d'étude 11, Cairo, 1936, pp.161-162, for examples of the variant hieroglyphic writings of Darius I’s name; Westenholz, J.G., Stolper, M.W., “A Stone Jar with Inscriptions of Darius I in Four Languages,” Arta 005, 2002, for a discussion of the composition of multilingual inscriptions based on a stone vessel from Darius I’s reign; Kuhrt, A., The Persian Empire: a Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period, Oxon/New York, 2010, p.317 Fig.8.1, for a complete, similarly large silver phiale inscribed in Old Persian for Artaxerxes I.
Footnotes
Egyptologist Paul Whelan writes: "The inscription reads: ı͗nṯry(p sic )wš pr-ꜤꜢ pꜢ ꜤꜢ (Darius, the Great Pharaoh). The ancient Egyptians encountered difficulties in rendering the name Darius in hieroglyphs, with at least seventeen known variants. This version differs slightly from those, as it also includes an erroneous ‘p’ hieroglyph. The presence of several cuneiform signs following the hieroglyphs indicates that the phiale likely once featured multilingual versions of the inscription - a practice more commonly found on stone vessels. The epithet ‘the Great Pharaoh’ on this fragment represents one of the earliest examples, appearing more frequently in inscriptions from the reign of Xerxes."
A hieroglyphic inscription on an Achaemenid item is very rare, although examples on stone vessels are known. Darius I 'the Great' ruled from 522 to 486 B.C. His predecessor, Cambyses II, conquered Egypt in 525 B.C. and the presence of this inscription is probably linked to the subsequent rule of the dynasty over Egypt and its influence on the Egyptian priestly caste.
VETTING:
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0278
Achaemenid Silver Bowl with Royal Egyptian Inscription for Darius the Great
Sold for (Inc. bp): £13,000
RELATED LOTS
-
Achaemenid Solid Electrum Bracelet
6th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,820
Penannular in form and tapering to each end with incised hatching. 20.8 grams, 41 mm
Acquired in 1993. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 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. -
Transjordan Holy Land Terracotta Jar with Two Handles
Early Bronze Age I, 3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £120 - 170 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £60
Comprising a bulbous body with narrow base and short neck, two strap handles. 382 grams, 14.5 cm
From the collection of a gentleman, Geneva, before 1988. 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. -
Central Asian Bronze Stamp Seal Matrix with Triskele
Circa 2100-1800 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Discoid with conical looped handle to the rear; accompanied by typed and signed note by the late W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Stamp Seal of Bronze, 36 x 35 x 38 mm. This has a round flat face, and a back which rises steeply to a big looped handle. the design on the face, done in raised lines, consists of three motifs beginning at the edge with inverted V-shapes then continuing with a single curling line. Two of the V-shapes have short strokes from the edge within them, and all three have further such strokes under the curls. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2100-1800 B.C. It is a large example of its kind, and the loop and rim are worn, but otherwise in good condition.' 78 grams, 37 mm
Ex collection of a late London gentleman, 1990s. Accompanied by an original typed and signed scholarly note by the late W.G. Lambert, 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.
