Old Babylonian Gold Frog Amulet

Discoid in plan and lentoid in section, bearing cuneiform scribal work in large characters on one side; repaired. 269 grams, 10 cm



From a specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. Thence by descent to family members and dispersed in 1988 in London and Geneva.

Such scribal tablets are always of this round shape. Type IV tablets, also known as 'lentils', are circular tablets containing one or a few lines of a composition written out once by the teacher and then a second time by the student, either underneath (typical of Nippur tablets), or on the reverse. This would appear to be an example of the former.

Mainly granule clusters in rings. 4.94 grams total, 3-6 mm



Ex property of a late Japanese collector, 1970-2000s.

A matched pair of large earrings decorated with pomegranates on the outer edge, the crescentic body divided in transversal grooves representing the abdomen of a bee, with granulation on the inner and outer edge, a horizontal gold wire with circlets to the centre. 23.78 grams total, 38 mm each



From a private family collection formed since the early 19th century, thence by descent. Property of a New Zealand legal professional. 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.12326-223715.

Fruit were generally considered to be a symbol of sensuality, temptation and fertility; the giving and accepting of fruit may be regarded as a symbolic sexual act, or at least a prelude to marriage. It follows naturally that the pomegranate, with its innumerable fleshy seeds symbolising life and fecundity, was an attribute of Aphrodite.