Qaznavid Decorated Bronze Bowl

Bulbous body with flat base and a wide, flaring neck, handle to the rear. 1.03 kg, 21.5 cm high



Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman.

Comprising: two discoid crescents, one large with bulbs on the outer edge, an earring with a raised central band and pelletted outer edge, and a crescentic earring with balustered columns on the outer edge. 29.7 grams total, 34.7-46.5 mm



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

Spherical, undecorated bulla envelope containing clay tokens. 74 grams, 50 mm



Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. Thence by descent to family members. Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This small collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well-preserved examples. Accompanied by a previous cataloguing slip.

Small globular and hollow clay balls are defined as 'bulla'. They are also known as ‘bulla-envelopes', some of which are plain and some displaying epigraphic, zoomorphic and/or figural decoration, impressed by either cylinder or stamp seals. Bullae first emerged in Mesopotamia, and their earliest occurrence can be traced to circa 8000 B.C. Most known decorated bullae come from the Uruk area and offer an insight into its culture.