LOT 0208

Bactrian Black Chlorite 'Hand Bag' Ceremonial Weight

3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.

7 1/4 in. (8 3/8 in.) (2.95 kg total,18.5 cm (22.5 cm including stand)).

D-shaped in profile with void below the curved edge, obverse with reserved serpent and lion opposed, the lion's claw grasping the serpent; reverse with spread eagle flanked by rearing serpents; all bodies with sockets to accept coloured inserts; mounted on a custom-made stand. [No Reserve]

with Gallery Rosen Ancient Art, Tel Aviv, 1960s.
Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
London, UK, collection.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate no.12774-237878.

Cf. 7000 years of Iranian Art, Exhibition catalogue, Smithsonian Institute, 1964, p.54 & p.118, illustration no.11; and see Vidale, M., Treasures from the Oxus: The Art and Civilisation of Central Asia, London, 2017, pp.44-51, figs.41-45, for a variety of stones and shapes.

The object could have been carried or swung in ceremonies or processions. On one side is a bird of prey, with its claws surrounded by the writhing bodies of two serpents, whose heads flank the bird's head. This symmetrical scheme probably renders a version of the enmity of eagle and serpent, which must have been an important theme of ancient Iranian art; the motif was later diffused throughout the world.