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LOT 0243
Royal Elamite Cuneiform Brick for King Shihak-Insusinak I
1150-1120 B.C.
13 5/8 in. (2.96 kg total, 34.5 cm wide including stand).
A fired clay brick with seven lines of cuneiform text referring to King Shihak-Insusinak I; accompanied by a scholarly note by Dr Manuel Ceccarelli, PhD earned at the University of Tübingen, Germany, which states: 'Brick with Elamite cuneiform inscription of Shilhak-lnshushinak, king of Elam (South-West Iran), ca. 1150-1120 BCE. This royal inscription celebrates the restoration of the temple of the goddess Kirisha. The inscription can be reconstructed thanks to similar bricks.'I, Shilhak-lnshushinak, son of Shutruk-Nahhunte, beloved servant of Kiririsha and Inshushinak, King of Anzan and Susa: Humbanumena built the temple of Kiririsha-of-Liyan with unbacked mudbricks, and, as it threatened ruin, I restored it to its original state: with backed bricks, I (re)built it, and for my life, for the life of Nahhunte-Utu, of Hutelutush-lnshushinak, of Shilhina-hamru-Lakamar, of Kutir-Huban, of lshnikarab-huhun, of Urutuk -EI-halahu and of Utu-ehihi-Pinigir, with this intention,for our sake(?), I gave it to Kiririsha, my goddess.''; mounted on a custom-made stand.
ProvenancePrivate UK collection.
with Bonhams, London, 22 September 1998, no.140.
Private collection, UK.
Acquired on the UK art market.
Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages and Dr Manuel Ceccarelli's notes.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.13233-250320.
Cf. similar stele in glazed terracotta of the same King in the Louvre Museum, regarding the decoration of Susa with enamelled bricks, inventory no.SB 17011, in Malbran-Labat, F., Les inscriptions royales de Suse. Briques de l'époque paléo-élamite à l'Empire néo-élamite (IRS), [Musée du Louvre/Département des Antiquités orientales], Paris, Éditions de la Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1995, p. 88-89, Br. 1802.
FootnotesThe name of this king, like that of many kings of Elam, was linked to a deity. Inshushinak was one of the major gods of the Elamites and the protector of the city of Susa in the state of Elam. He played an important role as a deity associated with royal power in the official ideology of many Elamite dynasties. King Atta-Hushu of the Sukkalmah dynasty called himself 'the shepherd of the god Inshushinak’. Many rulers dedicated new building projects to Inshushinak, using the formula 'or his (i.e., the king's) life.' The Shutrukids commonly used the title '(king) whose kingdom Inshushinak loves.'
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LOT 0243
Royal Elamite Cuneiform Brick for King Shihak-Insusinak I
Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,420
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Western Asiatic Bone Animal Amulet
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
A stylised figure of a stocky animal with a small head, pierced through the body. 3.27 grams, 22.7 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Scaraboid Seal with Aramaic Inscription
Late 1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
Plano-convex in section with three rows of incised ornament to the underside. 9.32 grams, 16 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
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Kassite Cylinder Seal with Standing God and Sumerian Prayer to Adad, the God of Storm
Mesopotamia, Kassite Period, Babylonia, circa 1300-1100 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £23,400
Cylinder seal, perforated longitudinally for suspension, with inscription; accompanied by a copy of an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder seal of white stone with Brown Bands 42 x 16 mm. The art-work shows a single standing figure. The head is perhaps covered with a simple cap and the hair is gathered in a bun at the nape of the neck. There is a big beard. The god or man is wearing a robe wrapped over one arm and then falling from the waist to the feet, but open at the front so that one leg is exposed. One hand is held at the waist, the other hangs down. The remainder of the engraved surface is filled with an eight-line inscription in Middle Babylonian cuneiform. The language, however, is Sumerian and a very difficult form of the language, since it was no longer spoken and the scribes thought in Babylonian, but then expressed themselves in a strange form of Sumerian. Thus there is considerable difficulty in being sure how to translate, and the following is given with reserves: Diskur bára ul pes / háúl-hl gur(4) gur(4) za-lu / zi-bi igi-bar sag ní-za / lum-bi tuku-bi silim-NI / ki-bi níg-si-sá.gar-re / hé-túm-túm-mu-bi / dsîn-ra-im-zeri / dumu be-lí-tim-dmes' “Adad, lofty lord, who rejoices the heart, who strengthens living creatures, arise, look upon the servant who reverences you, grant him his dwelling, ma[l]ke it prosper, establish justice at his place, and lead him — namely sîn-ra' im-zeri, son of … -Marduk.” This is a Cassite period seal, from Babylonia, c.1300-1100 B.C. Such seals are comparatively rare, and this one is a large, fine specimen with long inscription and in very good state of preservation.'; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 18.89 grams, 41 mm
Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in December 1994. Private collection, London, UK. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly report and translation, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13264-253487.
The prayer celebrates Adad as the thunder god. It is written in typically learned Sumerian, translated almost morpheme by morpheme from Akkadian.
