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LOT 0226
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.
FootnotesIn Mesopotamia ancient stone-carvers produced a variety of vessels from soft soapstone (steatite) and pale yellow alabaster, along with jewellery. They include cylindrical boxes, cups, high open-rim vases and a few globular jars. Among it the most prominent products were the cups with tall, slender stalks, apparently intended for religious purposes. The repertoire of motifs of the ‘Intercultural Style’ includes vegetal, architectural, and abstract or naturalistic representations of people and animals, depicted in a carved and inlaid technique.
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 0226
Mesopotamian Steatite Bowl with Animals and Palm Trees
Estimate £10,000 - 14,000€11,600 - 16,240 (for guidance only)$13,500 - 18,900 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5,000 (EUR 5,800; USD 6,750) ‡+BP*
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Post Sasanian Silver Footed Dish with 'Tamga'
Circa 8th-10th century A.D. or laterEstimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £800
Discoid footed dish with raised rim, central tondo with parcel-gilt ring and 'tamga' motif. 466 grams, 22 cm
Private collection, UK. 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.13029-247330.
During the Sasanian Empire, the North Iranian ‘tamgas’ became ‘Neshan’ or seals and heraldic symbols of nobility and military personnel, worn on their dress, horses, standards and personal belongings like this vessel. This characteristic continued during the early Muslim domination. Among the Neshan published by Christensen, one particular ‘tamga’, related to an unknown Sasanian clan, recalls exactly half of the one impressed on the present example (Farrokh, 2005, p.23 no.5). -
Large West Central Asian Bronze Greek Cross Seal Matrix
Circa 2300-1800 B.C.Estimate: £30 - 40 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Handled stamp seal with Greek cross design, accompanied by an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Stamp Seal of Bronze 28 x 17 x 35 mm. This had originally the shape of four Greek crosses based on a central small circle, but three are broken off and missing, only one remains. Above the circle is a tall stalk handle with round pierced loop on the top. the circle and crosses are compartmented. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-1800 B.C. What remains is in good condition, and the pattern of the whole can easily be reconstructed.' 14.8 grams, 35 mm
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Ex property of a West London businessman. Academically researched and catalogued by the late Professor Lambert in the early 1990s. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly report, numbered T-189, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert. -
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Large Western Asiatic Style Ceramic Bowl with Mythical Beast
Late 20th-21st century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Bell-shaped in profile with polychrome rim, incised advancing winged feline among fronds. 577 grams, 21.7 cm wide
Private collection, UK.
