Details

LOT 1294

Large West Central Asian Bronze Stamp Seal with Heraldic Eagle

CIRCA 2300-2000 B.C.

2 1/2 in. (63.6 grams, 64 mm).

Openwork discoid seal with loop handle to the reverse; 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, 63x63x20 mm. This is round with flat face and flat back on which a handle of inverted U-shape is mounted on the back. The design is both compartmented and open-work. It shows a heraldic eagle in the middle: head up, wings spread, and tail feathers down, surrounded by a guilloche of nine spirals. The design is repeated by engraving on the back. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-2000 B.C. The handle is worn, but otherwise it is in very good condition, and is a fine piece.'

Provenance

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.