Large Qaznavid Bronze Bowl with Star-Burst Design and External Lozenges

'Architectural' type with plain shank, square-section bezel with vertical filigree frame to each face, domed roof and cell with inset turquoise stud. 4.02 grams, 30.77 mm overall, 15.21 mm internal diameter (approximate size British I 1/2, USA 4 1/2, Europe 8.07, Japan 7)



Private collection of Kal Noselson, New York, acquired between 1976 and the late 1990s; thence by descent.

Plano-convex in profile with a lightly inscribed antique legend to domed face (including Arabic name and numeral '1298'); underside with reserved figure of a bird with wings spread. 28.7 grams, 36.5 mm



With Artemis Gallery, Munich, 1980s. Acquired from Artemis Gallery, November 1992. European private collection.

Bulbous body with four stub legs, tall neck and internal strainer, tall scooped edge to the rim, loop handle to the rear; body and neck painted with geometric motifs, red paint on the base and legs. 1.16 kg, 32.3 cm



UK collection, 1990s. Acquired on the UK art market, before 2000. Private collection, Mr M.V., a London-based businessman.

Artefacts from Amlash date from the late second millennium B.C. through to the Partho-Sasanian period, with most dated to the 9th and 8th centuries B.C. Zoomorphic drinking or ritual vessels are abundant in Amlash pottery and usually feature depictions of animals common to that region. Such vessels have been recovered across Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and they were known as Bibru. They were produced as ceremonial drinking vessels, dedicated to specific deities, but they might also have served as drinking vessels for the social elite and royal family members.