Achaemenid Turquoise Blue Glass Bead Necklace String

Pillow-shaped tablet with cuneiform text identified as 'irbu-income of dates from five people, with additional accounting on reverse, dating to year twenty of an unnamed king'; in glass-topped wooden display box. 24.9 grams, 45 mm (68 grams total, 66 x 50 mm including box)



Acquired in a Dorset/Somerset saleroom in the late 1950s. From the private collection of Colonel E.J. Martin (1911-1981) Indian Army and Artillery Regiment; collected since before 1954, and still with its original box with old information label. Identified by Colonel Martin's friend, the 'Keeper of Antiquities' at the British Museum. 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.

Piriform in profile with flared foot, thick ropework collar above the shoulder, socketted rim; repoussé frieze depicting three nude dancing girls in vigorous motion with draped swags of cloth and holding cymbals; between, a peacock, small boy with a vase and another holding a dove; old collector's labels to underside. 481 grams, 18.7 cm



Private collection, 1960s. Accompanied by a report by Professor François de Blois, Affiliated Researcher at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge. Accompanied by a positive scientific statement from Striptwist Limited, a London-based company run by historical precious metal specialist Dr Jack Ogden, reference number 170163. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12482-229825. 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.

Comprising heater-shaped, leaf-shaped, barbed-and-tanged, and other types. 280 grams total, 4.1-10.8 mm



Acquired 1980-2015. 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.

A number of arrowheads of this type have been excavated in Luristan and in the South-Caspian region. Many parallels are from a burial context, but a large hoard of them was found in a non-funerary context. This type of arrowhead was in use from the late 2nd millennium B.C.