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LOT 1097
Bactrian Copper Stamp Seal with Ibex
LATE 3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
7 in. (220 grams total, 17.8 cm including frame).
Ibex-shaped seal with segmented body and long horns, facing right, standing on all four legs; mounted in a modern wooden frame with fabric backing.
ProvenanceEx London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
Property of a London gentleman.
Cf. Sarianidi, V., Myths of Ancient Bactria and Margiana on its Seals and Amulets, Moscow, 1998, figs.84,89,90, for similar.
FootnotesThe object belongs to a large class of compartmented seals, characteristic of this area. These stamps were frequently produced in either copper or bronze and would feature distinctive figural or geometric patterns such as floral and cross motifs, or animals such as goats, snakes, scorpions and mythical beasts. The wild goat or markhor or ibex Shumashti Siru, was a tribal animal subject to representation on the most ancient Bactrian seals.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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Western Asiatic Engraved Bronze Ring
13th-14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Sturdy D-section hoop with stepped shoulders and hexagonal rosette bezel with bands of incised pseudo-text. 20.25 grams, 31.80 mm overall, 20.12 mm internal diameter (approximate size British T, USA 9 1/2, Europe 21.26, Japan 20)
Collected from 1970-1999. From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK. -
Islamic Manuscript Pair, The Science and Chemistry of Precious Stone and Minerals; and Book on Magic
Tangier, 1139 A.H. (1726 A.D.)Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Rebound as a hardback with cloth binding to spine and envelope flap, marbled boards; title page with naskh script text in a triangular block; text pages typically 25 lines of cramped black-ink script with red titles and diacritics; second quire with looser black-ink script, 22 lines per page with perpendicular marginal notes and numerical grids. 268 grams, 17 x 23.5 cm
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12278-220407.
The texts are (1) 'Revealing and explaining the nature of precious stones and minerals in the Science of Chemistry' by Sheikh Shihab al-Din Ahmad bin Ahmad Zarruq al-Fassi, written out by Sahnoun bin Muhammad al-Wansharisi in 1139 A.H. (1726 A.D.) (2) 'Iwamie altaerif fi matalie altasrif' (On magic) written by Iman Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Ghazali al-Tusi who died in 505 A.H. (1111 A.D.). This copy was made in Tangier in 1139 A.H. (1726 A.D.). -
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Western Asiatic Banded Agate Necklace Bead Collection
Circa 2nd millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £286
Comprising eighteen banded agate beads of mixed size and form, with sixteen mixed beads in other stones; all pierced for stringing. 149 grams total, 11-39 mm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
