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 White Stone (surface blackened in places) 30.5 x 21 mm. The main scene consists of a standing figure with a big shock of hair, wearing a long skirt from the waist down, marked by horizontal lines, holding up snakes in each hand. On each side of this figure is a horned animal, bovine on the left, of uncertain species on the right, each in lively pose, the one on the right sideways. There is one filler in the main scene, the head of a horned animal. The secondary scene consists of five items: a star, a bull's head shown from the front, a tree, a rosette and the head of an unidentified horned animal. This is a seal in a local Cypriot style, from Cyprus, and dating to c.1500-1300 B.C. It is an important specimen of good quality, though knowledge of ancient Cypriot mythology does not yet allow us to identify the figure holding the snakes.'; supplied with a museum-quality impression. [No Reserve]

PROVENANCE:
UK private collection, acquired 1980-1983.

Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in February 1992.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.