Loading, please wait...

Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge

Details

LOT 1227

Bactrian Gold Coiled Wire Necklace with Pendant

3RD-2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.

26 in. (37.20 grams, 66 cm).

Tightly-coiled wire band with graduated profile, domed disc closure with repoussé central boss and pellets to the rim, pendant formed as a rectangular frame enclosing two fusiform banded agate and another fusiform bead, barrel-shaped gold collars and coiled wire finials.

Provenance

with Ancient and Islamic Art Ltd, 1993.
Private European collection, early 1990s.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate no.12597-232360.

Literature

Cf. Salvatori, S., 'Early Bactrian objects in private collections' in Ligabue, G., and Salvatori, S., Bactria. An Ancient Oasis from the Sands of Afghanistan, Venice, 1988, pp.181-7, fig.62ff, for similar style of jewellery.

Footnotes

In Old Bactria there are a number of necklaces with compartmented chlorite rosettes containing settings in lapis lazuli, cornelian, and turquoise, which seem to indicate a tradition of purely local taste; together with these should be considered other examples in twisted gold lamina, like our example, with pendants in gold or in semi-precious stones such as rock crystal.

CONDITION

VETTING:

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.

LOT 1227

Bactrian Gold Coiled Wire Necklace with Pendant

Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120

Print page

RELATED LOTS

  • Large Sogdian Silver-Gilt Wild Boar Rhyton
    Large Sogdian Silver-Gilt Wild Boar Rhyton
    5th-6th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £65,000

    A Sogdian or Sasanian head of a wild boar with detailed facial features including large snout, curled tusks, alert eyes with heavy eyelids, erect ears, the animal's mane framing the head and back; a series of small circles decorating the cheeks; an oval vessel mouth emerging from the mane and the spout formed as a pierced stud at the centre of the boar's chest. 1.3 kg, 21.5 cm long



    with a New York gallery, 1970s. Private collection, London. Accompanied by three black-and-white photographs taken prior to cleaning, believed to date from the 1970s. 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.12979-246395.

    The production of silver vessels and dinner objects for the court was highly centralised within the Sasanian Empire. In the 5th and 6th century AD, the production of silver vessels expanded, creating new shapes, such as pitchers, elliptical bowls and high-footed bowls. If the iconography included both Dionysian and Christian imagery, the subjects linked with royal power were the favourites, and among them, the boar. The boar was, in fact, the animal associated with the Zoroastrian Izad Vahram, the epitome of victory. It was not a coincidence that one of the usurpers of the Persian throne, the general Farrukhān, took the title of Shahrbaraz (reigning in 630 AD), whose name means ‘The Boar of the Empire’, attesting to his dexterity in military command and warlike personality. Shahrwarāz derived in fact from the middle-Persian word shahr (country) and warāz (boar).

    Lot Details

  • Western Asiatic Mixed Gold Bead Group
    Western Asiatic Mixed Gold Bead Group
    1st millennium B.C.

    Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)

    Opening Bid: £150

    Including oblate, barrel-shaped and other types. 4.99 grams total, 2-9 mm



    Ex property of a late Japanese collector, 1970-2000s. 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.

    Lot Details

  • Western Asiatic Ceramic Bowl with Blue Leaf Design
    Western Asiatic Ceramic Bowl with Blue Leaf Design
    12th-15th century A.D.

    Estimate: £250 - 350 (‡+bp*)

    Opening Bid: £120

    Broad bowl with carinated inner edge to the and chamfered rim, law basal ring; upper face glazed with floral design picked out in blue and grey, circumferential rings below the rim and panels of radiating stripes and blue glaze. 710 grams, 24.6 cm



    S. Morad collection. From the collection of M. Hugues Rosset, Switzerland. Private Swiss collection, acquired from M. Hugues Rosset in 1998.

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list