Old Babylonian Lapis Lazuli Cylinder Seal for (the god) Shamash, (and goddess) Aya

The lower body formed as slender flutes in relief, concentric rings to the interior, resting on a flaring shallow foot, possibly Parthian. 590 grams, 18.8 cm wide



Acquired on the London art market, 1971-1974. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11785-206404.

The wealth of the Sassanid court has been confirmed by archaeological excavations that have unearthed shallow vessels, among which bowls forged from precious metals like silver, likely used to drink wine in the palaces and at the court of the Šāhanšāh (King of Kings). The production of silver vessels and dinner objects for the court was highly centralised within the empire. In the 5th and 6th century A.D., this production expanded, creating new shapes, such as pitchers, elliptical bowls and high footed bowls, also used by the middle class. This vessel is continuing the tradition of the vessels in the Arsacid court.

Group of sixteen leaves from a manuscript dealing with astronomical lore, written in dense blocks of thirty four lines of neat Naskh black ink script with red headings and highlighting; tabulation grids and marginal topic headers; front page with French title 'Ouvrage d'Astronomie de Sahnoun' (A work on Astronomy by Sahnoun); probably from North Africa. 106 grams, 25 x 18 cm



Acquired 1970s-1996. Property of a North American collector. London collection, 2016.

The bottle of cylindrical form with a foot, channel to the upper body with shallow rounded rectangular panels above and chevrons below; iridescent surfaces; later silver neck. 22.2 grams, 50 mm



Collected since the 1970s. Ex Everitt collection, acquired by descent 2017.