Mesopotamian Stone Bowl Collection

Modelled in the round standing zebu with prominent horns. 64.3 grams, 53 mm



UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK.

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.

Comprising a thin, extended neck developing into a largely unmarked face, represented only as a low-relief oval across its width; small arms folded into the chest emerging just beside two raised breasts; body curving inwards to suggest a feminine waist, before widening dramatically at the hips and buttocks; legs tapering gradually towards the base, with small marks delineating toes; mounted on a custom-made stand. 386 grams total, 23 cm including stand



Dr Werner Alder, Carona, Switzerland, acquired in the 1960s. Private collection M.R., Lugano, Switzerland. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. Accompanied by a thermoluminescence analysis report no.N126a11 from Oxford Authentication. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13015-246792.

The Amlash ceramics of Iron-Age Iran are named after a small modern town in the northern province of Gilan, just south of the Caspian Sea. Although the town is in close vicinity to Mesopotamia, the objects found there have a distinct local style, perhaps due to the natural boundaries of the Elburz and Zagros mountain ranges. The ceramic vessels and statuettes of both humans and animals from this region are by far the most important source we have on the Amlash culture of this period. Much of what has survived seems to have held spiritual or ritual functions, for example, votive idols and libation vessels. Human representations are generally found in burial sites and may therefore represent deities or specific individuals. These terracotta figurines, distinguished by their exaggerated, rounded hips and thighs, are believed to date from the late 2nd to early 1st millennium B.C. and are widely interpreted as fertility symbols or representations of a mother goddess.