Heavy Luristan Bronze Dish

Bulbous body with four stub legs, tall neck and internal strainer, tall scooped edge to the rim, loop handle to the rear; body and neck painted with geometric motifs, red paint on the base and legs. 1.16 kg, 32.3 cm



UK collection, 1990s. Acquired on the UK art market, before 2000. Private collection, Mr M.V., a London-based businessman.

Artefacts from Amlash date from the late second millennium B.C. through to the Partho-Sasanian period, with most dated to the 9th and 8th centuries B.C. Zoomorphic drinking or ritual vessels are abundant in Amlash pottery and usually feature depictions of animals common to that region. Such vessels have been recovered across Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and they were known as Bibru. They were produced as ceremonial drinking vessels, dedicated to specific deities, but they might also have served as drinking vessels for the social elite and royal family members.

Plano-convex in section and discoid in plan with transverse piercing; intaglio figure of a standing stag to underside. 3.42 grams, 15 mm



Ex P Chapman collection, 1980s-1990s.

Densely carved scene with two types of rearing horned animals in combat, depicted with long tails and with fur detailing on the bodies, pellets and other motifs on the field; accompanied by a museum quality impression. 52.5 grams, 44 mm



From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.