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LOT 0166
Large 'King Nebuchadnezzar the Great' Brick from the Wall of Babylon
604-562 B.C.
13 1/4 x 13 in. (13.6 kg, 33.5 x 33 cm).
A large fired clay brick from the Wall of Babylon bearing six lines of stamped Babylonian cuneiform inscription to one face which reads: 'AG - ku -dur-ri-URU' / 'LUGAL ba-bi-lu' / 'za-ni-nu é-sag-ila' / 'u e-zi-da IBILA' / 'SAG.KAL. sa AG-IBILA-URU' / 'LUGAL ba-bi-lu ana-ku', which translates: 'Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who provides for Esagila and Ezida, the eldest son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, am I'; traces of bitumen on the blank side; accompanied by an old label which reads: 'Brick from the Wall of Babylon / Presented by W.Bro. Gentle-Cackett Secretary Bible Lands Mission / The impression records the fact that it was built by King Nebuchadnezzar [II]'. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx Reverend Samuel W. Gentle-Cackett (1871-1943), in the 1930s.
Gentle-Cackett was the secretary of the Bible Lands Missions’ Aid Society, 76 The Strand, London, WC2 (1904-1943), author of Palestine Portrayed, 1936, and Worshipful Brother of the Lodge of Sincerity 174.
This brick formed part of an old collection of Masonic ephemera, and is believed to have originated from the Lodge of Sincerity 174.
Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher.
Accompanied by a copy of the book Palestine Portrayed, 1936, written by S.W. Gentle-Cackett.
Accompanied by copies of the relevant pages from the book They Wrote on Clay, showing similar bricks in situ.
Cf. Chiera, E., They Wrote on Clay, Chicago, 1938, p.95, for a photograph of similar bricks shown in situ.
FootnotesGenesis 11:3: "And they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly', and they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar."
In the 1920s, Cackett read reports of Christian Armenians being orphaned as a result of attacks from Turks and in response he set up a refuge in Bedfont, where he was able to rehome 1500 children.
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LOT 0166
Large 'King Nebuchadnezzar the Great' Brick from the Wall of Babylon
Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,980
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Mesopotamian Shell Beads
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
A restrung group of discoid shell beads. 123 grams, 62 cm long
Acquired 1980s-1990s. H.N. collection, Milton Keynes, UK. -
Western Asiatic Trans-Tigridian Cylinder Seal
Circa 25th-23rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £585
A shell cylinder seal with scenes in two registers; accompanied by an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder seal of fossil shell, 45 x 17 mm. Two registers: above two seated figures drinking beer from a pot through straw, palm tree terminal. Below: contest scene of hero, two domestic quadrupeds and two lions. trans-Tigridian, c.2500-2300 B.C. Condition fair.' 23.4 grams, 45 mm
From an important family collection. 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. Accompanied by a typed and signed note by Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993.
'Trans-Tigridian' in this context means 'from across the River Tigris', i.e. from the region between the Tigris and the Zagros mountains, between the Iranian highlands and Mesopotamia. -
Cuneiform Accounting Tablet Listing a Distribution to a Series of Babylonian Soldiers
Mid 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,105
A bifacial rectangular tablet with lentoid cross-section, the two principal faces bearing cuneiform text relating to a distribution for several individuals whose names are recorded in the left-hand column (Sîn-bēl-ilī Masitum, Sinatum, etc.), probably Babylonian soldiers, the document dates to the end of the first Babylonian dynasty; repaired. 353 grams, 13 cm wide
Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. 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.
