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LOT 0955
Sassanian Cloak Pin with Lion's Paw
CIRCA 4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.
5 in. (22.1 grams, 12.6 cm).
A copper-alloy hair pin with tapering round-section stem, bifacial lion's paw terminal.
ProvenanceAcquired before 2000.
From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
Cf. similar pin in bone in BM, inventory no.2007,6002.417 from Erk-Kala, near Merv.
FootnotesIn the Parthian and Sassanian Empires and the Graeco-Roman world, elaborate coiffures were a form of conspicuous consumption and continued to be one of the most common forms of reifying social status and economic wealth. Often using expensive ornaments, such as gold and silver hairpins and wigs, these coiffures must have made it clear who had the leisure time to expend several hours creating an elaborate hairstyle.
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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Opening Bid: £400
A terracotta rhyton vessel with a flaring neck and zoomorphic spout, possibly a horse's head with circular spout in its chest. 668 grams, 18 cm high
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Western Asiatic Dish with Star
Late 1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £180 - 240 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
A broad ceramic dish with raised flange rim and deep wall, painted design of concentric rings to the inner rim and inner face, central star motif with radiating arms of varying lengths. 620 grams, 22.2 cm wide
Fine condition.
Acquired 1970s-1990s. Ex Pars Gallery, Mayfair, London, UK. From a specialist collection of pottery. -
Sumerian Jemdet Nasr Period Animal Amulet
3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £279
A carved jasper amuletic pendant of a calf with a band and supporting loop to its middle, sockets for insertion of separate eyes. 18.11 grams, 43 mm
Fine condition, loop broken.
Acquired 1980-2000s. Important collection of a London gentleman.
