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LOT 0231
Mesopotamian Alabaster Offering Dish with Lion Handle
2ND-EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
8 3/4 in. (698 grams, 22 cm).
An Aramean rectangular dish with sloping sides, an inward-facing goat-head at each corner; handle formed as a recumbent lion biting the rim; each beast with recessed eyes to accept inserts; ropework band to the underside.
ProvenanceWindermere Collection, Germany, 1960s.
American collection, Phillips, 1960s-1980s.
with Fortuna Fine Arts, 2012.
From the S.M. collection, 2012-2016.
From an important London collection, 2016.
Private collection.
Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate no.S00118561.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12164-218579.
Cf. Settgast, J.,Von Troja bis Amarna, The Norbert Schimmel Collection, Mainz, 1978, no.146, for a vessel with similar lion heads; Moorey, P.R.S., Bunker, E.C., Porada, E., and Markoe, G., Ancient Bronzes Ceramics and Seals, The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection of Ancient Near Eastern, Central Asiatic and European Art, Los Angeles, 1981, cat.1305, for similar vessel with lion head biting the rim, carved in steatite.
FootnotesThe Aramean civilisation produced superb specimens of vessels, in which the lion, symbol of royal power, was one of the most relevant decorative motifs. Vessels of this typology are already known from the Anatolian culture of Kültepe, the first Hittite capital, since the Middle Bronze Age. Also the culture of Ugarit (Ras Shamarra) produced cups with similar lion heads, in a period of 1500 and 1300 B.C.
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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LOT 0231
Mesopotamian Alabaster Offering Dish with Lion Handle
Estimate £18,000 - 24,000€20,880 - 27,840 (for guidance only)$24,300 - 32,400 (for guidance only)
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Western Asiatic Bronze Bracelet with Beast-Headed Terminals
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
D-shaped in section with opposed horned beast-head terminals. 32.4 grams, 60 mm
From an old English collection, 1990s. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
Quran Manuscript Two-Page Spread
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
Loose paper pages with handwritten text in Naskh script, thirteen lines of text to each side, red and blue inked rings as punctuation, decorative side-panel with perpendicular text; torn at the central fold, edges chipped. 11 grams, 34.5 x 43 cm
From the private collection of M. Cummings, Lincolnshire, UK, 1990s. -
Islamic Manuscript Pair, The Science and Chemistry of Precious Stone and Minerals; and Book on Magic
Tangier, 1139 A.H. (1726 A.D.)Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Rebound as a hardback with cloth binding to spine and envelope flap, marbled boards; title page with naskh script text in a triangular block; text pages typically 25 lines of cramped black-ink script with red titles and diacritics; second quire with looser black-ink script, 22 lines per page with perpendicular marginal notes and numerical grids. 268 grams, 17 x 23.5 cm
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12278-220407.
The texts are (1) 'Revealing and explaining the nature of precious stones and minerals in the Science of Chemistry' by Sheikh Shihab al-Din Ahmad bin Ahmad Zarruq al-Fassi, written out by Sahnoun bin Muhammad al-Wansharisi in 1139 A.H. (1726 A.D.) (2) 'Iwamie altaerif fi matalie altasrif' (On magic) written by Iman Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Ghazali al-Tusi who died in 505 A.H. (1111 A.D.). This copy was made in Tangier in 1139 A.H. (1726 A.D.).
