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LOT 1349
Early Bronze Age Silver Idol
CIRCA 2400-2100 B.C.
2 1/2 in. (5.34 grams, 62 mm).
Violin-shaped with round body, long neck and stylised head, symbolising a female body, perforated with two holes at the top representing the eyes, embossed with dots around the perimeter.
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.12321-223719.
Cf. for similar idols but in stone and clay, Bilgi, Ö., Anthropomorphic Representations in Anatolia before the Classical Age, Istanbul, 2014, figs. 792-800; for metallic idols of very similar (although not completely identical) shape cf. Zimmermann, T., ‘Anatolia and the Balkans, once again, ring-shaped idols from Western Asia and a critical reassessment of some ‘Early Bronze Age items from Ikiztepe, Turkey’ in Oxford Journal of Archaeology, January, 2007, pp.25-32; Atakuman, Ç., ‘Figurines of the Anatolian Early Bronze Age: the assemblage from Koçumbeli-Ankara’ in Anatolian Studies, 67, 2017, pp.85-108.
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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Western Asiatic Banded Alabaster Bowl
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Squat in profile with carination below the flared rim. 250 grams, 12.3 cm wide
Private collection, UK. -
Large Kushan Gold Pendant with Bust of a Goddess
Circa 4th century A.D.Estimate: £12,000 - 17,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £6,000
A late Kushan or Hephthalites Dynasty discoid pendant with a female deity, possibly Nana, at the centre holding a lotus flower in her right hand, hair elaborately dressed and wearing large earrings, necklace and bracelets; enclosed by a border of stylised bull heads and a double-plaited border, the outer edge with raised bosses; later applied polygonal suspension loop with granulated collars and an oval garnet cabochon. 22.11 grams, 71 mm
Acquired by a Swiss family in the mid-1980s to late 1990s, thence by descent. Private collection, Switzerland, since the late 1990s. 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.13021-246776.
Nana (Kushan Greek: Νανα, Ναναια, Ναναϸαο, Sogdian Nni) was a Bactrian female deity, a variation of the pan-Asian Nana, a fusion of the Sumero-Babylonian Inanna-Ishtar with a local deity, in her Kušan form with the local (Zoroastrian) Harakhvati Aredvi Sura Anahita. Such syncretism was common among Kušan deities. She was an important patron deity in the Kušan Empire and the most important deity worshipped by Emperor Kaniška (c. 127-150 A.D.). -
Western Asiatic Pale Agate and Gold Bead Necklace
1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Restrung group of graduated tabular beads. 42.9 grams, 50 cm
From a London gentleman's collection, 1995.
