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LOT 1300
Old Babylonian Cuneiform Tablet of a Contract
2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
2 1/4 in. (58 grams, 58 mm).
Pillow-shaped with cuneiform text to both broad faces and one long edge; part of one face absent. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom specialised collection of cuneiform texts, formed in the 1950s-1990s.
The property of a London gentleman and housed in London, 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 1990s.
The collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples.
Cf. cuneiform text from Babylon now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under accession no.86.11.282.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Western Asiatic Bronze Footed Chalice
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Of squat profile with broad bowl and slightly everted rim, short stem and flared base. 140 grams, 12.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Islamic Manuscript, 'Explanation of the Astrolabe Al-Manadam' by Al-Hakim the Physician Muhammad bin Ahmad Al-Iskandarani
1289 A.H. (1872 A.D.)Estimate: £1,500 - 2,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £750
Hardback with quarter-calf binding and cloth-covered boards; title page with naskh script text in a triangular block; text pages typically 18 lines of loose black-ink script inside hand-drawn bilinear frames with red titles and diacritics, ru'qah script headings, text figures, diagrams, numerical and text tables, perpendicular text-blocks; usage wear. 468 grams, 20.3 x 25.6 cm
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12276-220409.
Astrolabes were used to make astronomical measurements, specifically to determine the altitudes of celestial bodies, but over time astrologers and travellers devised many different uses for the instrument. They were especially useful to navigators in order to determine position when out of sight of land. This text explains the book 'The Astrolabe' and several ways in which the device could be deployed. -
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Western Asiatic Stone Cylinder Seal Trial Piece
2nd-1st millennium B.C. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £46
Steatite or talc with two columns of cuneiform text, un-drilled: -num, son of Ad-da-al(?)-a/za(?); possibly unfinished. 6.06 grams, 30 mm
Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector, collection no.083. London collection, 2016.
