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LOT 1153
Hasanlu Bronze Pin with Ram's Head Finial
9TH-8TH CENTURY B.C.
6 1/2 in. (110 grams, 16.5 cm).
With a tapering round-section shank, finial topped with a ram's head. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of late George Withers, UK.
Acquired from Dore and Rees, UK.
Property of Mr A.B., an American collector.
See Muscarella, O.W., Bronze and Iron Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, p.45, no.51, for similar.
FootnotesThe corpus of pins from Hasanlu includes simple plain pins, pins with lion's head and other zoomorphic pins. The zoomorphic pins were either cast onto a bronze shank or the pin was inserted into a hollow of the head. A third category was that of the pins cast in one piece, like our specimen, representing a goat or mouflon, an animal often depicted in the North-West Persian material culture.
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 Carnelian Bead Necklace String
1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £65
Restrung group of mainly annular beads with a teardrop dangle centrepiece. 8.52 grams, 39.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Luristan Bronze Phiale Mesomphalos
Early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Broad and shallow with slightly inturned rim, central repoussé dome. 173 grams, 13.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Luristan Bronze Pin Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Comprising: six specimens with a tapering round-section shank, balustered finial topped with a conical head, fastening holes; four specimens with tapering round section, poppy-shaped head and flared collar beneath. 714 grams total, 14.1-41.7 cm
From a collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
According to the study of Moorey, the knobbed pins from Iran are documented from the earliest periods of metallurgy, increasing in quantity during the late 2nd millennium, to reach the peak of the production from the early 1st millennium. Pins were used as hair and clothing fasteners, but it is not excluded that they could have been used by women as personal means of defence in dangerous situations.
