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LOT 0185
Miniature Sumerian Terracotta 'Bulla Envelope' with Impressed Decoration
15TH-16TH CENTURY B.C.
1 1/4 in. (19.8 grams, 32 mm).
Complete and of irregular pyramidal form, containing clay 'tokens'; the outer face impressed with enigmatic motifs. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceSpecialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1988.
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.
The collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples.
Accompanied by an illustrated two page previous cataloguing document.
Cf. The Oriental Institute Museum, Woods, C. ed., Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East and Beyond, University of Chicago, 2010, p.68, for this type of object and the whole article for relevant discussion.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0185
Miniature Sumerian Terracotta 'Bulla Envelope' with Impressed Decoration
Sold for (Inc. bp): £520
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Green Stone Pendant with Inscription
19th-20th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Rectangular with scooped detailing to the upper edge, point pierced for suspension; five lines of calligraphic nastaliq script with floral ornament. 36.2 grams, 63 mm
with a London, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s. -
Islamic Leather-Bound Manuscript, Two Books on Mathematics
1095 A.H.Estimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
Rebound as a hardback with full leather binding, central arabesque foliage panel to each cover; title page with triangular block of naskh text with red marks; first set of text pages typically with 31 lines of cramped naskh script in black ink with red highlighting, hand-drawn geometric figures with numerical notation relating to angles, etc; second set with looser script typically in 23 lines with marginal notes and red underscoring, tables and perpendicular text blocks. 232 grams, 16 x 21.5 cm
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman.
The texts are: (1) 'Ghaniat alhisab' (In Arithmetic) the classification by Judge Jamal al-Din Ahmad bin Ali Ibn Thabit (2) 'Alkaayib' (In Calculating Mathematical Copies) by the computer scientist Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ha'im al-Magdisi, written out by Yusuf ibn Hussein Hamouda Al-Habibi in the year 1095 A.H. (1683 A.D.). -
Trans-Jordan Holy Land Terracotta Bowl
Early Bronze Age, 3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
With wide piriform body and low foot, decorative band with four low lugs below the rim. 1.42 kg, 25 cm wide
From a London, UK, collection. Ex 'Hand of the Potter' Exhibition, Piccadilly 1990s.
