D-shaped in profile with void below the curved edge, obverse with reserved serpents above a frieze of trees; reverse with rearing serpents above geometric panels; mounted on a custom-made stand. [No Reserve]

PROVENANCE:
with Gallery Rosen Ancient Art, Tel Aviv, 1968.
Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
London, UK, collection.

Accompanied by a copy of an original invoice from Gallery Rosen Ancient Art, 25 December 1968.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate no.12775-237877.
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.

LITERATURE:
Cf. 7000 years of Iranian Art, Exhibition catalogue, Smithsonian Institute, 1964, p.54 & p.118, illustration no.11; see Vidale, M., Treasures from the Oxus: The Art and Civilisation of Central Asia, London, 2017, pp.44-51, figs.41-45, for a variety of stones and shapes.

FOOTNOTES:
The object could have been carried or swung in ceremonies or processions. This is also suggested by the side in which the snakes overlook buildings of a religious place, which have the clear structure of the Ziggurats, while other sections are representing the doors of a temple.