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LOT 0252
Early Bronze Age Silver Idol
CIRCA 2400-2100 B.C.
2 1/2 in. (17.88 grams, 64 mm).
Of unusual double pelta type, symbolising a female human body, embossed dots to the perimeter and two holes to the centre.
ProvenanceFrom a private family collection formed since the early 19th century, thence by descent.
Property of a New Zealand legal professional.
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.12318-223718.
Cf. for similar idols but in marble, Bilgi, Ö., Anthropomorphic Representations in Anatolia before the Classical Age, Istanbul, 2014, figs.728, 729 and 741; for metallic idols of very similar (although not completely identical) shape see idem, pp.272-275; see also Connolly, P., The legend of Odysseus, Oxford, 1986; D’Amato, R., Salimbeti, A., Early Iron Age Greek Warrior 1100-700, Oxford, 2016.
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 0252
Early Bronze Age Silver Idol
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
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Western Asiatic Bronze Magical Charm Amulet with Throne Verse
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Bifacial plaque with suspension hole; obverse with central bilinear circle enclosing a grid with numbers, text surrounding; reverse with ten lines of dense text. 31.9 grams, 56 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Western Asiatic Gold Bead Group
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £538
Including spherical, biconical, barrel-shaped and other types. 7.98 grams total, 5-12 mm
Ex property of a late Japanese collector, 1970s-2000s. -
Mesopotamian Terracotta Cuneiform School Exercise Tablet
Circa 1950-1700 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Discoid in plan and lentoid in section, bearing cuneiform scribal work in large characters on one side; repaired. 269 grams, 10 cm
From a specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. Thence by descent to family members and dispersed in 1988 in London and Geneva.
Such scribal tablets are always of this round shape. Type IV tablets, also known as 'lentils', are circular tablets containing one or a few lines of a composition written out once by the teacher and then a second time by the student, either underneath (typical of Nippur tablets), or on the reverse. This would appear to be an example of the former.
