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LOT 0261
Mesopotamian Steatite Bowl with Animals and Palm Trees
3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
9 5/8 in. (5.3 kg, 24.5 cm wide).
Drum-shaped steatite vessel with broad flat rim; low-relief frieze to the outer face: dense vegetation panels with hatched treetrunks and fronds, resting quadrupeds, each with the legs folded beneath the body.
ProvenanceAcquired by a Swiss family in the mid-1980s to late 1990s, thence by descent.
Private collection, Switzerland, since the late 1990s.
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.13026-246787.
Cf. Aruz, J. ed., Art Of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2003, p.326, for similar.
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 0261
Mesopotamian Steatite Bowl with Animals and Palm Trees
Estimate £12,000 - 17,000€13,920 - 19,720 (for guidance only)$16,200 - 22,950 (for guidance only)
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Western Asiatic Bronze Dish
Late 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Broad and shallow with lip to the inner face of the rim. 86 grams, 11.4 cm
Ex 1990s collection and with a central London gallery. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Pan Weight
Circa 10th century A.D.Estimate: £50 - 70 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Biconvex in profile with broad flat faces. 136 grams, 34 mm
From the London collection of the late Mr S.M., 1969-1999. -
Achaemenid Gold Ring with Agate Bull
Circa 500 B.C.Estimate: £5,000 - 7,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,500
Comprising a round-section swivel ring set with a carved Apis bull depicted recumbent with its head turned to the right. 4.71 grams, 27.98 mm overall, 19.07 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)
Private collection, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12939-245988.
The Apis bull was a sacred animal in ancient Egyptian religion, worshipped as a living manifestation of the god Ptah and later associated with Osiris and Ra. Regarded as an intermediary between the gods and humanity, the Apis bull was chosen based on specific physical characteristics, such as a black coat with unique white markings. Once identified, it was housed in a grand temple in Memphis, where it was treated with great reverence, adorned with jewellery, and participated in important religious ceremonies. Upon its death, the bull underwent elaborate mummification and burial rituals, symbolising its transition to the afterlife and its continued divine role. The cult of the Apis bull highlights the Egyptians’ deep connection to animals as symbols of divine power and their belief in the interconnectedness of the mortal and spiritual worlds.
