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LOT 1174
Mesopotamian Cuneiform Tablet Fragment Group
2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 7/8 - 2 3/8 in. (93.8 grams total, 48-61 mm).
Group of two pillow-shaped clay tablets each with cuneiform text to one broad face; repaired. [2, 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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Neo-Assyrian Stone Cylinder Seal with Scorpion and Bird
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
With pointillé design of two birds one above the other, a scorpion and a tulip. 3.32 grams, 17 mm
From the 'S' collection, acquired 1970-1990s. The collection was seen and studied by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993. -
Amorite Terracotta Bull
Late 3rd-early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Modelled in the round, with humped shoulder and downturned horns. 60 grams, 83 mm
Private collection Mr S.A., acquired in 1991. Thence by descent.
The figurine was modelled simplistically and only the presence of a hump and horns makes it possible to identify the animal as a zebu, which was common in the prehistoric Mesopotamian world. Similar figurines, which reproduced animals and humans, are typical of Amorite art, named after a group of semi-nomadic populations who lived in the north-western part of the Near East in the 3rd and 2nd millennium B.C. From the 20th century B.C., the incursions and armed pressure that the Amorites exerted on the kingdom of Ur overthrew the existing dynasties and created several kingdoms throughout Mesopotamia whose dynasties retained a strong attachment to their original culture. -
Western Asiatic Limestone Mortar
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
With short columnar base and bulbous upper body, broad rim with pouring lip. 4.85 kg, 13 cm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
The later (2nd -3rd century A.D.) Rabbinic tradition emphasised the difference between the permanent mortar (makhtesh kevua) and the movable one (makhtesh metaltelet), with the first being automatically sold with the house, but the second sold only if expressly stated by the vendor. This form of movable mortar was common in the Levant throughout the second half of the 1st millennium B.C.
