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LOT 1123
Mesopotamian Alabaster Lenticular Necklace Bead Group
CIRCA 3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
1/8 - 3/8 in. (53 grams total, 3-10 cm).
Comprising a quantity of disc-shaped beads, each pierced for stringing. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceUK gallery, early 2000s.
LiteratureCf. Golani, A., Jewelry from the Iron Age II Levant, Zurich, 2013, fig.30.3, for similar beads
FootnotesWhile slaves and the poorest people wore simple, functional clothes, the wealthiest classes of Mesopotamia could afford beautifully made jewellery. The royal tombs from Sumeria dating from around 2500 B.C. included an abundance of beaded necklaces, rings, bracelets for the wrist and ankles, stickpins, and other jewellery, made of gold and silver set with decorative gemstones such as deep blue lapis lazuli, red carnelian, white alabaster, and sparkling crystals. In the Lugale-Mythos the Alabaster is personified like a hero: ‘(And) the hero Alabaster, these heroes plundered the cities for him (= Asag)’. The hematite and the limestone/alabaster, two stones with a light and dark base colour, were used as aids in a divinatory ritual in which they were probably connected with the favourable and unfavourable answers to oracle inquiries.
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Western Asiatic Decorated Bronze Dish with Inscription
12th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Broad dish with carinated profile, blocks of reserved interlace to the rim and calligraphic panel. 323 grams, 19.5 cm
Collected from 1969-1999. From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK. -
Mesopotamian Cuneiform Tablet
Early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Pillow-shaped in form with cuneiform text in dense rows to both faces and one edge; partly absent. 66 grams, 56 mm
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. This small collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples. -
Western Asiatic Agate and Gold Bead Necklace
1st millennium B.C. and laterEstimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £550
Restrung designer necklace with elegant bead arrangement, comprising spherical white agate beads, oval banded agate beads, with later gold interstitial slender bicone beads; modern clasp. 82.5 grams, 64 cm long
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.
