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LOT 0310
Bactrian Stone 'Hand Bag' Ceremonial Weight
LATE 3RD-EARLY 2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
10 3/4 in. (9.95 kg, 27.5 cm).
Rectangular block with round-section loop handle.
ProvenanceEx West London, UK, collection, 1990s.
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.
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.
FootnotesAmong the most iconic intercultural style objects are the so-called 'lock' or 'hand bag' weights. These were probably not weights at all, but were likely badges of high office, carried to indicate authority. Similar objects have been found throughout Mesopotamia, the islands of the Persian Gulf, on the Iranian steppe, as well as the Indus Valley.
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AUCTIONS:
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Ancient Bead Necklace String
1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £20
Restrung group of graduated oblate and other beads in stone, ceramic and shell. 7.94 grams, 42 cm
UK gallery, early 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.
Similar beads were found in the excavations of the royal tombs of Nimrud. Thousands of beads were discovered in the sarcophagi (for example those of Nimrud’s Queens) probably originally composed as wide collars with multiple strands. -
Jemdet Nasr Type Cylinder Seal with Figures
3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
Drum-shaped with drilled frieze of scenes depicting a seated figure on a segmented seat; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 27.4 grams, 23 mm
From the 'S' collection, acquired 1970-1990s. The collection was seen and studied by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993. 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. -
Anatolian Black Stone Cylinder Seal with Seated Deity
Circa 1200-1000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
Cylinder with cord and bead handles; accompanied by a copy of an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder seal of soft black stone, 29 x 16 mm. Condition fine. Seated deity with bird on wrist, facing horned quadruped with bird on hind quarters, standing human figure behind horned quadruped; fillers: seven dots, two swords(?), unidentified item. From North Syria or Anatolia, c. 1200-1000 B.C. The god holding the bird is probably the storm god, Teshub, though he could be known at this period by another name.'; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 14.7 grams, 28 mm
UK private collection, acquired 1980-1983. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in January 1989. 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.