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LOT 0881
Mesopotamian Clay Cuneiform Tablet Fragment Group
CIRCA 2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 1/2 - 1 5/8 in. (66 grams total, 26-40 mm).
Each of six fragments bearing cuneiform text or pictograms to at least one face. [6, No Reserve]
ProvenanceSpecialised 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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Western Asiatic Bulbous Vase
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £180 - 240 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
With trumpet-style neck and rim and integral foot. 1.1 kg, 23 cm high
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Aramaic Bronze Magical Text
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Rectangular in form with trace remains of text; unrolling marks visible; displayed in a membranous frame. 215 grams total, 13.5 x 13 cm including case
From an important London, UK, collection, 1970s. -
Tel Brak Type Alabaster Eye Idol
Circa 3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Anthropomorphic eye idol, possibly of figurative female form, carved with a bell-shaped body, two 'breasts', remains of openwork 'eyes' above. 33.5 grams, 43 mm
Acquired 1969-1999. London collection of the late Mr S.M., thence by descent.
A classic artefact type from ancient Mesopotamia. Likely hand-carved using drills and string cutting. Eye idols were so named in the 1930s by the British archaeologist Max Mallowan. Whilst excavating a mound called Tel Brak, he discovered hundreds of anthropomorphic items of similar form, thus naming the mound 'Temple of the Eyes'.
