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LOT 0256
Large Bactrian Black Chlorite 'Hand Bag' Ceremonial Weight
3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
11 1/8 in. (6.25 kg total, 28.3 cm high including stand).
D-shaped in profile with a round-section loop; obverse with a reserved scene of two lions with hatched detailing to the fur advancing towards a small quadruped placed perpendicular to them; reverse with a median eagle with wings extended and feather detailing, flanked by rearing serpents and a scorpion; mounted on a custom-made stand.
Provenancewith Gallery Rosen Ancient Art, Tel Aviv, 10 November 1969.
Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
London, UK, collection.
Accompanied by a copy of an original invoice from Gallery Rosen Ancient Art, 10 November 1969.
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.13246-252973.
Cf. Various, 7000 Years of Iranian Art, Exhibition catalogue, Smithsonian Institute, 1964, p.54 & p.118, illustration no.11; and see Vidale, M., ‘The Function of a Chlorite Hand-Bag of the Halil Rud Civilization as inferred from its Wear Traces’ in Iranian Journal of Archaeological Studies, 2, 2012, pp.1-11, fig.1; 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.
FootnotesAmong the most iconic intercultural style objects are the so-called 'lock' or 'handbag' weights. They have been found in a variety of different colourful stones, such as breccia, chlorite, fossiliferous limestone, calcite and onyx. At the beginning, these objects were probably not weights at all, but were likely badges of high office, carried to indicate authority. Similar objects have been found throughout Mesopotamia, the islands of the Persian Gulf, on the Iranian steppe, and in the Indus Valley.
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LOT 0256
Large Bactrian Black Chlorite 'Hand Bag' Ceremonial Weight
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000€17,400 - 23,200 (for guidance only)$20,250 - 27,000 (for guidance only)
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Western Asiatic Stone Amulet and Bead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
A mixed group including: two barrel-shaped with etched decoration, one seashell-shaped, one mother-of-pearl pendant shaped as a fish, another fish-shaped pendant in stone, and others. 33.39 grams total, 15.89-25.69 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Large Sasanian Chalcedony Stamp Seal
Circa 4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Plano-convex in section with lightly incised grid and geometric markings. 16.24 grams, 27.29 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Luristan Bronze Tanged Short Sword
Early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Comprising a wide triangular blade with raised midrib and a short, pierced tang. 157 grams, 31.5 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
Edged weapons with tangs are among the simplest forms of weapons from this culture. This basic type was hardly altered in the period when bronze was the most important material in weapon production. The retention of this basic type with so few alterations makes precise dating challenging. Bronze daggers, dirks and swords exist today only as bronze blades, having lost their perishable handles over the course of time.
