Loading, please wait...
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0226
Mesopotamian Steatite Bowl with Animals and Palm Trees
Sold for (Inc. bp): £10,400
-
Western Asiatic Stone and Other Bead and Pendant Necklace String
1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £39
Composed of graduated mixed beads with a large discoid pendant, restrung. 57 grams, 34.5 cm
Ex Ancient Art Shop, Windsor, UK, 1990s. Ex private West County, UK, collection. -
West Central Asian Bronze Double-Headed Heraldic Eagle Seal Matrix
Circa 2300-2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Eagle-shaped seal matrix with a large loop on the back, 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, 25 x 21.5 x 1mm. This bears the shape of the design, with flat compartmented face and flat back of which is mounted a loop handle of metal rod. The design shows a heraldic eagle with two heads: heads at the top sideways, wings hanging beneath, and tail feathers spread at the bottom. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-2000 B.C. It is a rare type (the double-headed eagle) and in very good condition save for a nick at the bottom.' 9.51 grams, 25 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 V-850, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert. -
Western Asiatic and Other Bead Group
1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £85
Mixed group of beads, mainly in glass and stone. 136 grams total, 1-22 mm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex London, UK, collection.
