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LOT 1182
Neo Babylonian Agate Duck Weight with Engraving
MID 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 1/8 in. (11.8 grams, 28 mm).
Modelled as a duck with its head resting along its voluminous back, base engraved with a crescent, dots, lines and triangles.
ProvenanceCollected from 1969-1999.
From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK.
Cf. Christie's A Peaceable Kingdom/ The Leo Mildenberg Collection of Ancient Animals, London, 2004, item 164; Kozloff, A.P., Animals in Ancient Art, from the Leo Mildenberg collection, Cleveland, 1981, fig.12bis.
FootnotesThere are references to keeping ducks in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia from the third millennium B.C. onwards. One of the most common shapes for Near Eastern weights was 'the sleeping duck'. Representation demonstrates that the duck served chiefly as a meat source, even though a certain cultic significance must also be presumed: the crescent here engraved could be connected with the cult of Ishtar.
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AUCTIONS:
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Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet Group with Legal Texts
Late 3rd-early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
Comprising two pillow-shaped clay tablets comprising: one in dark brown material, cuneiform text to both broad faces and one edge, polished surface, end of the third millennium but with an Akkadian administrative text; one in tan-coloured material, cuneiform text to both broad faces and three edges, a legal text from the beginning of the second millennium. 90 grams total, 45-51 mm
Acquired in the 1970s. European private collection. -
Sassanian Silver Ring with Animal Gemstone
2nd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
With tapering D-section hoop and gold oval-shaped bezel, holding a glass cabochon with intaglio design of advancing lion; gold bead to the edge of bezel marking the orientation of the gemstone; possibly reset. 16.4 grams, 27.93 mm overall, 19.75 mm internal diameter (approximate size British S, USA 9, Europe 20, Japan 19)
UK private collection before 2000. On the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman. -
Achaemenid Silver Animal-Headed Handle
5th-4th century B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £120
With round-section shank slightly bowed at the middle, at each end a horse-head finial with low-relief detailing, pricked ears, integral attachment plate. 56.5 grams, 90 mm
Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971.
