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LOT 0241
Proto-Sumerian Pictographic Terracotta Tablet
URUK III, CIRCA 3200-3000 B.C.
3 1/4 in. (73.3 grams, 81 mm).
Lentoid in section with incised and impressed design to one face; trapezoidal figure with bowl(?) and incised cross, two rows of impressed D-shapes; probably a tally token.
ProvenanceFrom an important collection formed before 1988.
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.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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AUCTIONS:
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Luristan Bronze 'Master of Animals' Finial
8th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,470
A bifacial sceptre head formed as a Master of Animals atop a collared tubular stem with flared foot; the finial composed of two addorsed birds standing on their backs looking up towards two birds' heads facing down and joined to slender crescentic arms representing slender beasts with ridged backs and roaring mouths, each in the grip of the Master standing crowned between them; the Master with tubular body, animal-like ears, prominent nose above a small mouth and wearing collars, neck rings and tiered headdress; waisted socket below; mounted on a display stand. 399 grams, 32.3 cm (526 grams total, 34.5 cm including stand)
Acquired between 1965-2020. Private collection, London. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The small head belongs to the tubular idols with protomes of second type of ‘Master of Animals’, probably being a finial standard. This type, according to Chausidis, came to be with the gradual transformation of the ‘zoomorphic standards with a human head, whereby the front legs of the animals became integrated into the tubular pillar of the standards. It gradually began to be cast with the other elements, representing the neck and torso of the central anthropomorphic character that retained the two-faced feature of the previous type. The necks and heads of the animal pair separated from the rest of their bodies, which, in turn, gradually lost their original form and acquired new meanings. -
Western Asiatic Terracotta Goddess Idol
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Free-standing, with a pinched, bird-like face, conical headdress or hairstyle, ornamental collar and stub arms; splayed foot. 57 grams, 13.5 cm high
Acquired in the 1970s. Ex European private collection. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Western Asiatic Silver Inlay Pair with Human Heads and Animals
1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £44
Comprising two matched inlays, each with a pair of facing heads, zoomorphic motifs below. 2.6 grams total, 16 mm each
Collected from 1970-1999. From the collection of the late Mr S.M., London, UK. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
