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LOT 0229
Bactrian Lapis Lazuli Recumbent Bull with Inlaid Eyes
3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 3/4 in. (31.6 grams, 46 mm).
Carved in the round as a bull with curved tail forming the suspension lug, recessed sockets for eyes on with inset turquoise bead.
Provenancewith Gallery Rosen Ancient Art, Tel Aviv, 1968.
with a London, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
Includes a copy of the original 1968 invoice.
Cf. for ancient bull cults, see Rice, M. Power of the Bull, London, 1997 and discussion there.
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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LOT 0229
Bactrian Lapis Lazuli Recumbent Bull with Inlaid Eyes
Estimate £1,200 - 1,700€1,390 - 1,970 (for guidance only)$1,620 - 2,300 (for guidance only)
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Large Holy Land Trans-Jordan Terracotta Bowl
Early Bronze Age, 3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
With wide body and low foot, decorative impressed-point band with four low lugs below the rim, undulating line at the foot. 1.6 kg, 24 cm wide
From a family collection mostly formed in the 1940s-1950s, thence by descent. -
Western Asiatic Terracotta Chalice
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
With broad base, balustered column with gusseted moulding, shallow bowl and broad flange rim; painted ovoids and other shapes to the base and rim. 1.22 kg, 18.1 cm
Ex property of a North London, UK, gentleman, 1990s. -
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Sumerian Limestone Bull Head Protome
3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £40,000 - 60,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £20,000
With large eyes, the pupils inlaid in black chlorite, bone insert for the sclerae, three arching grooved brows, the wide muzzle with a horizontal incision between the nostrils, closed mouth; sockets to the sides of the head to accept separately made horns and ears; the edge of the neck contoured for attachment; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 1.24 kg total, 14.5 cm high including stand
Private European collection, 1985. with Christie’s, New York, 3 June 2009, no.35. Private collection, Europe. 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.12358-226703.
In Sumerian mythology, the bull was associated with the storm and rain god Hadad (Iškur), and is widely represented on artworks (Woolley, 1961, pp.46, 52; Kramer, 1979, figs.17, 18, 22). The round inlaid eyes are typical of Sumerian art of Early Dynastic Period, as well as the three eyebrows.
