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LOT 0854
Old Babylonian Cassite Clay Cuneiform Letter
CIRCA 1600-1200 B.C.
2 in. (50.6 grams, 49 mm).
Written on two faces of the tablet; lentoid cross-section; accompanied by a handwritten and signed scholarly note issued by the late W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: '3 Cassite Babylonian letters, 1600-1200 B.C.'
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.
Accompanied by a hand written note signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert.
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AUCTIONS:
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Western Asiatic Bronze Bird Collection
6th-8th century A.D.Estimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £222
One with curved comb and wattle, raised disc eyes, carinated pentagonal tail; one with hooked beak, lentoid eyes, low-relief detailing. 46 grams total, 28-47 mm
‘The Ancient Menagerie Collection’ formerly the property of a Cambridgeshire lady, collected since the 1990s and acquired from auctions and dealers throughout Europe and the USA, now ex London collection. -
Luristan Whetstone with Bronze Ibex Handle
13th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £676
Roughly cylindrical in shape; the ibex with stylised detailing. 147 grams, 17.8 cm
From an old German collection, Cologne, Germany. From the collection of a North American gentleman. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Flat Axe
Circa 3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Comprising a wedge-shaped blade and piriform handle. 156 grams, 17.7 cm
UK private collection formed before 2000. Ex North London, UK, gallery.
These blades were fitted directly to the handle or via a sheath. Flat axes, whose axis is parallel to that of the handle, often had a rounded edge like in our specimen, or a flared and bevelled edge, while flat adzes have an axis perpendicular to that of the handle and a bevel edge on one side only. Their shape comes directly from the lithic axes of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods.
