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LOT 1354
Mesopotamian Terracotta Cuneiform Tablet
EARLY 2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
3 1/4 in. (143 grams, 82 mm).
Pillow-shaped tablet with impressed text. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceSpecialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992.
Thence by descent to family members.
Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
This small collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well-preserved examples.
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AUCTIONS:
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Sumerian Black and White Stone Bead Bracelet
Circa 3000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Composed of alternating white and dark beads, restrung with elasticated cord. 5.02 grams, 16 cm
Ex private collection, UK; formerly with Ancient Art Shop, Windsor, UK, circa 1998. -
Large Jemdet Nasr Type Cream Stone Geometric Cylinder Seal
Circa 3100-2900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Cylinder seal with two pairs of opposing triangular motifs with a hatched grid in between; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 19.09 grams, 38 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. Accompanied by a previous typed catalogue slip with collection no.3. -
Large Amlash Bronze Spouted Libation Vessel
Circa 1200-1000 B.C.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (+bp*)
Current Winning Bid: £2,200
One of the largest known examples, comprising a thin-walled body and flaring foot, a separately made long spout rivetted to the body; the U-shaped spout resembling the beak of a bird with stylised linear feather detailing to the gracefully curving neck, eleven domed rivets to the edges; the base of the foot with concentric circle decoration. 735 grams, 46 cm
Believed to have been acquired in the 1960s-1970s. From the collection of Mr Jay Gluck (1927–2000) and Mrs Sumi Hiramoto Gluck. Malter Galleries Inc., Auction 80, The Gluck Collection of Ancient Art, 7 April 2002, no.54. Alexander Ancient Art, Netherlands. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13314-257665.
Jay Gluck (1927–2000) was an American author, art historian, and orientalist who spent much of his life in Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region. A passionate collector and scholar of Asian art and culture, he is perhaps best known for his landmark publication Japan Inside Out (1964), and later A Survey of Persian Handicrafts (1977), co-authored with his wife Sumi Hiramoto Gluck, a Japanese-born artist and cultural collaborator who shared his deep engagement with Eastern art traditions. Together, the Glucks assembled a distinguished collection reflecting their combined expertise and decades of firsthand engagement with the arts of Asia and the ancient world. Items from their collection are held with great regard for the couple's scholarly rigour and the depth of provenance they represent.