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LOT 0223
Large Akkadian Red Jasper Seal
CIRCA 2200 B.C.
2 5/8 in. (82.8 grams, 66 mm).
Plano-convex in section with incuse animal forms to the underside.
ProvenancePrivate collection.
Acquired from a Swiss collection, 2002.
Cf. Akkadian seal in jasper with similar figures of animals in Wilson, J.A., Allen, T.G. Ancient Oriental Cylinder and Other Seals, with a description of the collection of Mrs William H.Moore, Chicago, 1940, fig.48.
FootnotesThe seal shows stylistic affinity with Akkadian seals representing animals. A few scenes of daily life occur on Akkadian seals, chiefly on the small number illustrating the history of Etana and the eagle. If Akkadian, our seal can be considered very rare.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0223
Large Akkadian Red Jasper Seal
Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£333 (EUR 387; USD 450) ‡+BP*
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Neo-Assyrian Buff Stone Cylinder Seal with Gryphons
Circa 800-700 B.C.Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Fragmentary seal with flying gryphons; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 2.36 grams, 24 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. Accompanied by a previous typed catalogue slip with collection no.80. -
Mesopotamian Steatite Bowl with Animals and Palm Trees
3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £10,000 - 14,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5,000
Drum-shaped steatite vessel with broad flat rim; low-relief frieze to the outer face: dense vegetation panels with hatched treetrunks and fronds, resting quadrupeds, each with the legs folded beneath the body. 5.3 kg, 24.5 cm wide
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.13026-246787.
In Mesopotamia ancient stone-carvers produced a variety of vessels from soft soapstone (steatite) and pale yellow alabaster, along with jewellery. They include cylindrical boxes, cups, high open-rim vases and a few globular jars. Among it the most prominent products were the cups with tall, slender stalks, apparently intended for religious purposes. The repertoire of motifs of the ‘Intercultural Style’ includes vegetal, architectural, and abstract or naturalistic representations of people and animals, depicted in a carved and inlaid technique. -
Large West Central Asian Bronze Greek Cross Seal Matrix
Circa 2300-1800 B.C.Estimate: £30 - 40 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Handled stamp seal with Greek cross design, accompanied by an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Stamp Seal of Bronze 28 x 17 x 35 mm. This had originally the shape of four Greek crosses based on a central small circle, but three are broken off and missing, only one remains. Above the circle is a tall stalk handle with round pierced loop on the top. the circle and crosses are compartmented. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-1800 B.C. What remains is in good condition, and the pattern of the whole can easily be reconstructed.' 14.8 grams, 35 mm
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Ex property of a West London businessman. Academically researched and catalogued by the late Professor Lambert in the early 1990s. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly report, numbered T-189, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert.
