Sasanian Green Jasper Stamp Seal with a Bust and Pahlavi Inscription

Tall piriform body with applied basal ring and dimpled base, applied trails to neck, dished piriform mouth with strap handle and thumb-pad. 180 grams, 23.3 cm



Sotheby's, Islamic Art, London 28 March 1994, no.61. 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.

Modelled in the round with grotesque features and fierce teeth exposed; drilled through the head for suspension. 16.2 grams, 24 mm



UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman. 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.

In Babylonian mythology the demon Pazuzu was the son of the god Hanpa. His consort, the demon Lamaštu, carried fever and preyed upon children and pregnant women. She could be neutralised with appropriate spells and amulets, which also protected against other demons. For this reason, women wore an amulet with the effigy of Pazuzu around their necks during pregnancy.

Cylinder with attached cord and bead handle; 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-Stamp Seal of Bronze, 330x08.5 mm. The seal is surmounted by a suspension loop, beneath which is a double-faced demon head with large, animal-like ears and beards. The neck is decorated with horizontal lines at the fronts and vertical lines at the sides. This rests immediately on the seal proper. The design of the cylinder seal is put between double lines above and beneath. It shows a standing worshipper with raised hands before an incense burner, a group of seven dots, a lunar cresent [sic], a lozenge-shape and a slender tree. The base, the stamp seal, shows a winged solar disc. Such seals, which are quite rare, come from the mountainous area to the north of Mesopotamia, and date from c. 900-700 B.C. In this case the worshipper and the winged disc are borrowed from Assyrian art, but the combination of items before the worshipper is not Assyrian. The demon-head cannot be identified with certainty, though it may be a variety of the Mesopotamian Pazuzu.'; accompanied by museum-quality impressions. 7.82 grams total, 8.1-32.64 mm



UK private collection, acquired 1980-1983. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in September 1990. 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.