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LOT 0266
Large Western Asiatic Gold Lunar Pendant
CIRCA 2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 3/4 in. (5.08 grams, 45 mm).
Shaped as a crescent moon with pearled border.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
Cf. Ilan, D., 'The Crescent-Lunate Motif in the Jewellery of the Bronze and Iron Ages in the Ancient Near East' in Proceedings, 9th ICAANE, Basel 2014, Vol. 1, 137–150, figs.1,4, for parallels.
FootnotesThe gold lunula was a characteristic type of necklace, collar, or crescent-shaped pendant of the late Neolithic, Chalcolithic, and most often early Bronze Age. The crescent appears in various forms in the material culture of the southern Levant. It also appears in Mesopotamian and Egyptian iconography. It is most frequently associated with the crescent moon and its related deity. Such pendants were worn at the neck, in contact with the body, as protective amulets.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Western Asiatic White Stone Bead Necklace
Circa 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Restrung, composed of small, pale stone or shell smoothed cylinder beads. 10.5 grams, 44 cm long
UK gallery, early 2000s.
Similar beads were found during the excavations of the royal tombs of Nimrud. Thousands of beads were discovered in the sarcophagi, including those of Nimrud’s Queens; they probably originally formed part of wide collars with multiple strands. -
Western Asiatic Lapis Lazuli Cylinder Seal with Presentation Scene
Circa 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
With frieze depicting central standing figure (the god Enki) in ankle-length robe holding a vase from which four jets of water flow downwards; two flanking attendants in flounced robes; panel of cuneiform text; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 9.66 grams, 20 mm
From an important London, UK, collection, 1970-1990. 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. -
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Mesopotamian Silver Bead Necklace
3rd-early 2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £15,000 - 20,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £7,500
Restrung and comprising mainly spherical, elongated ovals, oblates, and segmented tube shapes. 224 grams, 54 cm long (1.5 kg total, 24.2 x 24.2cm including case)
Numismatic and Ancient Art Gallery AG, Ancient Art of the Mediterranean World, No 8, lot 5, c.1982. Taisei Gallery, Gold & Silver Auction, Part II, Ancient to Renaissance, 5 November 1992, The Conrad Salon, The Waldorf-Astoria, New York, lot 39. From an important North West London collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11970-210480.
