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LOT 0259
Hittite Terracotta Fertility Figure
12TH-8TH CENTURY B.C.
6 1/4 in. (7 7/8 in.) (52.3 grams, 16 cm (515 grams total, 20 cm including stand)).
D-section figurine with elaborate pierced headdress and navel, applied annular eyes, pinched nose, applied segmented collar and pointillé detailing to the hips; mounted on a custom-made stand.
ProvenanceEx collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK, 1970-1990s.
Accompanied by a copy of a thermoluminescence test report from Oxford Authentication with sample no.N124j52.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
See Zahlhaas, G., Idole - Frühe Götterbilder und Opfergaben, München, 1985, for discussion.
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 Bichrome Terracotta Cup
3rd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Drum-shaped with low flared base, gently everted rim; painted vertical frond motifs. 535 grams, 12.5 cm
From a West London, UK, collection, 1990s. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Anatolian Alabaster Eye Idol
4th-3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,820
With a squat body and two looped eyes, slightly convex base. 34 grams, 38 mm wide
Acquired in the 1980s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This type of figurine belongs to the type known as an ‘eye idol’ or ‘spectacle idol’, made of stone, marble or alabaster. Usually models having incised eyes (but also examples of open eyes are found) have been excavated mainly at Tell Brak, where thousands were found in a building now called the Eye Temple. There, in the precincts of the temple, excavators have found thousands of little 'eye-idols', schematised humanoid figures fashioned from alabaster, limestone, soapstone and black burnished clay. -
Large Sumerian Terracotta Bulla Envelope with Impressed Decoration
Uruk Period, 5500-3100 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £702
Spherical and hollow-formed with moulded animal and other ornament to the outer face; clay tokens inside. 243 grams, 72 mm
Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1988. Thence by descent to family members. Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples. Accompanied by a copy of a previous two page illustrated cataloguing note, collection no.23. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.