Old Babylonian Terracotta Cuneiform Tablet

Pillow-shaped with columnar ribbing to the broad faces, dense cuneiform text in the columns. 57.2 grams, 63 mm



Private collection of Mr K., Maryland, USA. Private collection, Switzerland, acquired in 2000. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12893-241757.

The 2nd millennium B.C. (about 2000–1000 B.C.) was an important period in the ancient Near East, when major civilisations such as the Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, and Egyptians grew in power and influence. It was a time of progress in trade, government, law, and writing, helping us understand how people lived and worked. Cuneiform tablets, which are small clay tablets written in one of the earliest writing systems, were widely used to record business, legal matters, letters, and stories. When these tablets are found outside their place of origin, it can show connections through trade, travel, or official communication, offering insight into both the ancient world and how such objects later moved through collections.

Comprising a triangular-section blade with a curved cutting edge and a rectangular-section blade with a gently curving cutting edge flanking a round socket. 741 grams, 19 cm



Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.

The adze-axe was a fundamental weapon of many Bronze Age cultures around the world. The form lends itself to dual purposes - for war and peace. As a tool, it was used for fabricating wood; as a weapon, its heavy mass and compact form make it a deadly striking and chopping weapon, even able to defeat light armour.

Discoid type with voided cross to centre and radiating openwork struts. 10.72 grams, 39.24 mm



From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.