Sabaean Alabaster Bull

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 Faience with Green Glaze 43 x 17 mm. The design, which is contained within a line above and another beneath, consists of two scenes of worship. The one shows a stylized sacred tree with a central trunk and five branches each side, all ending in buds, then a pendant hanging from each lowest branch on either side. On left and right and facing the tree are worshippers, both with hands raised. The other scene has two similar worshipers, facing each other with hands raised. Between them the area is divided in the middle by a guilloche. Above it is a stag falling onto its neck, below it is another kind of horned animal, but recumbent and turning its head. This seal is Mitanni, c. 1500-1200 B.C and from anywhere in the area between Syria and Western Kurdistan. It is a product of the Hurrian civilization and the stylized tree is a symbol of the Storm God, Hurrian Teshub, Babylonian Adad, Hebrew Hadad or Baal. The horned animals occur commonly on Mitanni seals, and this seal proves that they are symbolic of some god, but it is not known which one. The guilloche is a standard decorative filler of the period. Faience is a manufactures substance, comparable with the modern porcelain. In the ground it often deteriorates over the centuries and has a powdery surface. This one, however, is in good condition, the only mark of its age being that the glaze has lost something of its original colour, which was turquoise This is an unusually large seal and important since seals of this size and quality are extremely rare.'; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 11.3 grams, 42 mm



From the private collection of a North American lady, formed 1970s-early 1990s, with collection reference no.P31. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert dated September 1990.

Showing a decorated temple with animals, accompanied by a museum quality impression and 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 Marble, 41 x 35 mm. The engraving shows a decorated temple facade and beside it four horned animals, a standard on a pole and a motif of four dots. This is a Jemdet Nasr seal, c. 3000-2800 B.C., from southern Mesopotamia, and is in very good state of preservation. It illustrates the Sumerian city state of the time. the temple was the largest building, and it owned flocks and herds, being a big economic organization as well as a religious institution. For the climate and terrain sheep and goats were the normal domestic animals, and ordinary people might own these. The larger domestic animals, which included cattle and other horned animals such as gazelles which eventually proved unsuccessful as domestic animals, were owned only by the temple. Seals of this size and quality are rare.' 98.8 grams, 41 mm



with Armand Trampitsch, Glyptique Archéologie, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Sale No.2, 13-14 May 1992, no.216. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in 1992.

Seals were the working signatures of the ancient Near East. Pressed or rolled into wet clay, they secured jars, bags, doors and tablets, and left a distinct impression that identified the owner, authorised a transaction, and showed whether a container had been opened. Stamp seals (pressed once to leave a single emblem) appear from the 7th–4th millennia BC and continue throughout later periods; cylinder seals (rolled to create a repeating frieze) develop in Mesopotamia in the late 4th millennium BC and are used into the 1st millennium BC. Beyond administration, seals were miniature artworks and amulets. Their images—gods and worshippers, royal hunts, banquets, heroes and mythic beasts—broadcast rank, piety and profession, and were believed to protect the owner. Materials range from soft stones to hard chalcedonies, haematite and lapis, worked with drills and abrasives to achieve crisp intaglio cutting. Many were worn on cords or rings and followed their owners through life, sometimes into the grave. Seals matter because they underpin the earliest systems of record-keeping and trade. Impressions on tablets and bullae are primary documents for ancient law, economy and religion; the seals themselves preserve that imagery in the round. For collectors, well-cut examples with sharp impressions, good polish and honest ancient wear are especially desirable, and pieces with early collection histories are keenly sought.

With rounded edges, obverse with an incised grid and dense cuneiform text across about half the available surface; reverse with remains of two columns of text; both ends absent. 95 grams, 61 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.