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_900x900.jpg "Old Babylonian Cylinder Seal with Two Standing Figures")
_200x200.jpg "Old Babylonian Cylinder Seal with Two Standing Figures")
.jpg "Old Babylonian Cylinder Seal with Two Standing Figures")
LOT 0221
Old Babylonian Cylinder Seal with Two Standing Figures
2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 1/8 in. (8.96 grams, 27 mm).
Representing a god in short mantle and round cap with upturned brim, holding a mace in his left hand, before him a goddess standing in a horned crown and kaunakes, her hands raised in supplication; accompanied by a museum-quality impression.
ProvenanceEx Mr J.K. collection, USA.
Acquired from the above, 1997.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12581-232131.
Cf. Eisen G.A., Ancient oriental cylinder and other seals with a description of the collection of Mrs. William H. Moore, Chicago, 1942, no.64, for a similar seal from the Old Babylonian Empire.
FootnotesThe seals of the First Isin Dynasty were much more varied than those just preceding the Third Dynasty of Ur. Often the chief god - probably Shamash - is standing, and the 'introducing' goddess is facing him, while the worshipper is not pictured. The seals are a mine for the understanding of the old Babylonian costume. The tunic of the female goddess here is made of tufted material that the Greeks called kaunakes, the weave of which imitated the effect of the earlier sheepskin costumes.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0221
Old Babylonian Cylinder Seal with Two Standing Figures
Estimate £1,200 - 1,700€1,390 - 1,970 (for guidance only)$1,620 - 2,300 (for guidance only)
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Western Asiatic Steatite Cylinder Seal with Deer and Scorpion
Circa 1500-1300 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Barrel-shaped with incuse frieze of a leaping deer and a scorpion, pellets in the field; supplied with an old dealer's ticket and a museum-quality impression. 13 grams, 22 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. Accompanied by a previous handwritten catalogue note card. -
Large Kushan Gold Pendant with Bust of a Goddess
Circa 4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £15,600
A late Kushan or Hephthalites Dynasty discoid pendant with a female deity, possibly Nana, at the centre holding a lotus flower in her right hand, hair elaborately dressed and wearing large earrings, necklace and bracelets; enclosed by a border of stylised bull heads and a double-plaited border, the outer edge with raised bosses; later applied polygonal suspension loop with granulated collars and an oval garnet cabochon. 22.11 grams, 71 mm
Acquired by a Swiss family in the mid-1980s to late 1990s, thence by descent. Private collection, Switzerland, since the late 1990s. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13021-246776.
Nana (Kushan Greek: Νανα, Ναναια, Ναναϸαο, Sogdian Nni) was a Bactrian female deity, a variation of the pan-Asian Nana, a fusion of the Sumero-Babylonian Inanna-Ishtar with a local deity, in her Kushan form with the local (Zoroastrian) Harakhvati Aredvi Sura Anahita. Such syncretism was common among Kušan deities. She was an important patron deity in the Kushan Empire and the most important deity worshipped by Emperor Kaniška (c. 127-150 A.D.). -
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Large Western Asiatic Style Ceramic Bowl with Mythical Beast
Late 20th-21st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Bell-shaped in profile with polychrome rim, incised advancing winged feline among fronds. 577 grams, 21.7 cm wide
Private collection, UK.
