Loading, please wait...
LOT 0194
Akkadian Agate Cylinder Seal with Inscription
2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 in. (7.29 grams, 26 mm).
Figural panel with a female in profile wearing tiered robe and with arms drawn up to the chest facing a male wearing a short jacket open at the hips; between them a dog with one foreleg raised; four columns of cuneiform text.
ProvenanceFrom the property of late Mr SM, London, UK, 1970-1990s, thence by descent.
Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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.
-
Western Asiatic Gold Zoomorphic Bead
Circa 1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Formed as a standing dog with collar to the neck, pierced longitudinally for mounting on a necklace. 2.85 grams, 14 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Aramaic Terracotta Magic Bowl with Cursive Script
4th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
An unglazed terracotta trumpet-shaped bowl with the faint remains of Aramaic-script to the inside; accompanied by a smaller bowl with three concentric rings of recently overpainted pseudo Aramaic-script to the upper face. 277 grams total, 9.5-12.4 cm
Acquired on the German art market, 1989-1995. with The Museum Gallery, 19 Bury Place, London, WC1, UK, 1998-2003. Property of a London based academic, 2003-present.
Aramaic incantation bowls are particular to the Sassanian period and have been found in regions of modern Iraq. These simple ceramic bowls, also known as magic bowls, each contain an Aramaic inscription, written in ink, which spirals from the centre. The bowls seem to have played an important part in domestic life. For example, during excavation in Nippur in 1889, one or more incantation bowls were found in each house together with domestic artefacts, most often in doorways or under floorboards in the corner of rooms. The bowls are predominantly apotropaic, and the inscriptions tend to protect their owners from misfortunes such as those faced in child-birth, illness and evil spirits. -
Phoenician Bronze Seated Figure Holding an Offering Cup
Circa 6th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
Modelled in the round with tight-fitting robe and carefully detailed tiered hairstyle; right hand raised to support a chalice; peg beneath the feet; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 301 grams total, 11 cm including stand
Acquired on the French art market. From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
Iberian statuettes from 6th century B.C. were produced under the influence of Greeks and Phoenicians. Small votive offerings of priests, priestesses, and deities in bronze, were found everywhere in Spain. The body of these figurines is often reduced to a rectangular plaque, but the head, as in all these types, is of plastic work, a process which reminds the prehistoric terracottas from the Argive Heraeum and elsewhere. The curve of the nose, which gives the face a Semitic appearance, is not accidental, and underlines the Phoenician influence.
