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LOT 0239
Mesopotamian Silver Stamp Seal with Janiform Head of the God Pazuzu
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 3/8 in. (25.80 grams, 36 mm).
Columnar in form with discoid base supporting a pair of stylised head with almond-shaped eyes, button nose, prominent elongated chin and triangular lobes; suspension loop to the top.
ProvenanceEx Mayfair, London, UK, collection, 1979-1990s.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13072-249423.
Cf. Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, catalog number YPM BC 017054, similar in The Israeli Museum, item number 2009-926.
FootnotesPazuzu was an Assyrian and Babylonian demonic god who was represented with a canine head, scaly body, a snake-headed penis, the talons of a bird, and usually four wings. He is often regarded as an evil underworld demon, but he seems also to have played a beneficent role as a protector against pestilential winds; a bronze figure of Pazuzu in the Louvre, (accession number MNB 467) is inscribed, ‘I am Pazuzu, son of Hanpa, king of the evil spirits of the air which issues violently from mountains, causing much havoc.’ His close association with Lamashtu, a fierce demon goddess responsible for child mortality, resulted in him being used to counter her powers and send her back to the underworld. Amulets of Pazuzu were positioned in dwellings to act as protective barriers to evil powers, or were often in the form of just a head, as in this example, and were hung around the necks of pregnant women. Pazuzu is popularly known today as the demon from the 1973 film ‘The Exorcist’.
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LOT 0239
Mesopotamian Silver Stamp Seal with Janiform Head of the God Pazuzu
Estimate £3,000 - 4,000€3,480 - 4,640 (for guidance only)$4,050 - 5,400 (for guidance only)
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Mesopotamian Haematite Cylinder Seal with Standing Figures
1900-1600 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Cylinder with standing figures and animals, with red stone bead; accompanied by a copy of an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder Seal of Hematite, 16 x 8.5 mm. The scene consists of four standing figures. Two face each other: a god in a short kilt and holding a mace at his waist while wearing a Gudea-type hat. Facing him is another god in a long robe raising one hand and extending the other. The other two figures both have frontal faces. The one, nude save for a double-stranded belt, holds both hands at the waist. The other wears a loin-cloth with hanging-down end and grasps a stick in one hand. There are three fillers: monkey, human head, and bird. This seal is from North-Western Mesopotamia, c. 1900-1600 B.C., and is a rare type. The state of preservation is good.'; accompanied by a museum quality impression. 3.30 grams, 16 mm
Anonymous French sale. Private collection, London, UK. Accompanied by a copy of an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993. -
Framed Ottoman Painted Miniature Leaf
20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Paper leaf with hand-painted scene depicting a torture scene: two outer bearded figures wearing turbans and ankle-length robes holding the handles of a frame with spikes; third similar figure kneeling in the middle grasping fourth figure, suspended naked and attached by ropes round his chest and thighs to the frame; blocks of explanatory text in red and black within the scene and outside; edges of leaf chipped; mounted in a glazed wooden frame. 1.06 kg, 45.5 x 35.5 cm
Private collection, UK. -
Tell Halaf Terracotta Fertility Figure
2nd millennium B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £442
A figurine depicting a seated female with hands supporting large breasts, small head with pinched nose and painted facial detailing; wearing a tiered necklace indicated by painted dots; with voluptuous legs. 143 grams, 13.3 cm
Ex Lockdales, Suffolk, UK, auction 166, no.1493. From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent.
