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LOT 1434
Mesopotamian Stamp Seal with Ibex
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 in. (9.69 grams, 25 mm).
Of conical shape pierced longitudinally, underside with a reclining ibex.
ProvenancePrivate collection, Europe.
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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Early Bronze Age Silver Idol
Circa 2400-2100 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,123
Violin-shaped with round body, long neck and stylised head, symbolising a female body, perforated with two holes at the top representing the eyes, embossed with dots around the perimeter. 5.34 grams, 62 mm
From a private family collection formed since the early 19th century, thence by descent. Property of a New Zealand legal professional. 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.12321-223719. -
Mesopotamian Terracotta Animal
2400-1900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Hollow-formed porcine figure with upturned snout, pinched ears, incised fur detailing. 42 grams, 77 mm
Ex private collection, Contessa L.G., since the 1980s. Private collection, acquired in 2000. -
Middle Assyrian Brick-Shaped Tablet with Funerary Inscription for Adad-Shumu-lesir’s Tomb
1363-912 B.C.Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,778
A rectangular brick-shaped tablet, inscribed in cuneiform script across three vertical faces, with a single column to the fourth and a continuation of text across the top surface; the inscription a funerary curse relating to the tomb of Adad-šumu-lešir, warning against interference with the burial, reading in part: 'As for a stranger, or somebody who would approach that tomb, or would bring up a corpse out of it and bury his own within, or would touch the silver inside - Adad, Šamaš, or Nergal will fill his house and field with shortage, collapse, and murder. He will repay the property of that tomb sevenfold, dedicating it to Šuriha. For the offspring of Adad-šumu-lešir he shall be undone for taking out and bringing down objects in the tomb, and for burying another body within it. Month Kalmartu, third day, eponymy of Aššur-mušezib.' 333 grams, 14.3 cm
Acquired in 1996. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12872-241667.
Funerary inscriptions of this type are extremely rare survivals, serving both as legal texts and spiritual safeguards, invoking the major deities Adad, Šamaš, and Nergal to enforce the curse.