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LOT 0249
Sassanian Chalcedony Seal with Two Rams
3RD-7TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (808 grams, 23 mm).
With intaglio scene of two opposed rams with a star between and legend above. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired between 1980-1983.
From the 'Empire' collection, an important UK private collection of seals.
Cf. Gyselen, R., Acta Iranica 44. Sasanian Seals and Sealings in the A. Saeedi Collection, Leuven, 2007, item 30.C.1, for type.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Sumerian Pictographic Tablet
4th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,050
Of lentoid cross-section with impressed grid and characters or ideograms, an economic text relating to farm produce written over two faces. 113 grams, 89 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. The collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12093-213020. -
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Western Asiatic Bronze Rhyton Bull Head
Early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
Hollow-formed head of a bull with short curved horns, large bulbous eyes, lateral scooped ears, short muzzle with flared nostrils, dewlap beneath; possibly from a rhyton; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 1.3 kg total, 22 cm high including stand
Excellent condition, very rare.
Acquired between 1980-1983. From the collection of a London, UK, gentleman. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12019-213616.
The rhyton was dipped into a krater and held above the drinker's mouth with the spout covered by a thumb, then opened to release a stream of wine into the mouth. The bull was a symbol of man’s control over the nature. Not only were these heads used to serve wine in the banquets, but they were also destined to hold blood from sacrificial animals, that was collected and then poured on the ground as a libation. -
Sumerian Terracotta Cuneiform Tablet
3000-2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,200
Rectangular slab with reserved symbols in three columns to one face, reverse plain. 314 grams, 11.9 cm
Ex Oriental Dar Antiques, Jerusalem, 1967. European private collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12094-211937.
