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LOT 0168
Neo-Babylonian Cuneiform Administrative Tablet from the Reign of Artaxerxes I, Achaemenid King of Persia
465-424 B.C.
2 5/8 in. (114 grams, 67 mm wide).
A pillow-shaped administrative clay tablet bearing cuneiform text to both principal faces, relating to a barley debt; Aramaic graffiti to one edge.
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.
The collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples.
Cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, 86.11.163, for similar.
FootnotesThe tablet records a promissory note of a typical kind to pay for barley. It concludes with the names of witnesses, town and date. The Aramaic script transcribes the cuneiform name of the debtor into Aramaic script, making it easier for scribes to identify who each tablet refers to.
It dates to the Achaemenid period, to the reign of Artaxerxes I (465-424 B.C.).
Such late administrative tablets are typically carelessly written, as is apparent on our example as some script has been rendered slanting sharply downwards.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0168
Neo-Babylonian Cuneiform Administrative Tablet from the Reign of Artaxerxes I, Achaemenid King of Persia
Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
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Western Asiatic Cuneiform Tablet Fragment Group
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
A mixed group of five ceramic tablet fragments, four bearing cuneiform text and/or pictograms to at least one face. 59 grams total, 24-47 mm
Specialised 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. -
Sumerian Amuletic Calf Figurine
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
A composition amuletic figurine of a calf with legs folded and bound beneath the body, head turned along the flank, slot to the underside. 9.46 grams, 30 mm
Fine condition.
Acquired 1969-1999. London collection of the late Mr S.M., thence by descent. -
Western Asiatic Idol Collection
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £351
A group of ceramic idols of anthropomorphic form, stylised incised detailing to the faces and garments. 115 grams total, 50-80 mm
Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private collection since 1998.
