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.

Provenance

Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
Property of a London gentleman.

Literature

Cf. Sarianidi, V., Myths of Ancient Bactria and Margiana on its Seals and Amulets, Moscow, 1998, figs.84,89,90, for similar.

Footnotes

The 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.

CONDITION

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LOT 1097