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LOT 0192
South Arabian Alabaster Head of a Man
3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
7 3/8 in. (2.12 kg total, 18.7 cm including stand).
Small mouth raised sharply in the middle, large nose with angular depressions for the nostrils, deep eye sockets to accept inlay, upper and lower eyelids with rounded ridges, eyebrows tapering towards the outer end; chiselled ears, top of the head cut off flat at the hair line, back of the head left roughly tooled with central vertical insertion pin; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceUK collection, 1990s.
Acquired on the UK art market, before 2000.
Private collection, Mr M.V., a London-based businessman.
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.
Cf. Cleveland, R.L., An Ancient South Arabian Necropolis, objects from the second campaign (1951) in the Timna Cemetery, Baltimore, 1951, pl.15, for similar head.
FootnotesUsually the heads of this typology are exhibited frontally and in symmetrical manner. Many of the heads have rather angular features. Nearly all the objects in this category were ornamented with inlay- the eyes and the eyebrows, in many cases. The sockets designed to receive the inlaid eyes are usually shaped in a rather naturalistic way.
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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Early Dynastic Clay Cylinder Seal with Wheel Pattern
3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £250 - 350 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £125
With geometric pattern including a segmented octofoil, two vesica motifs with pellets to the centre and concentric bands outside, lozenge with parallel bands and others. 6.32 grams, 30 mm
From the 'S' collection, acquired 1970-1990s. The collection was seen and studied by W.G.Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993. 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. -
Syro-Hittite Terracotta Figurine with Animal
Circa 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
An abstract figure modelled standing, carrying a small animal in its arms, possibly a kid, with a pinched head, large circular eyes, conical headpiece, discoid ear ornaments and a neck ornament. 56 grams, 12.6 cm high
Collection of a deceased London gentleman, 1979-1999, by descent. From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent. Accompanied by an original thermoluminescence analysis report no. N122e89 from Oxford Authentication. 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.
The Syro-Hittite states rose to prominence in northern Syria and southern Anatolia (modern Turkey) following the collapse of the Hittite Empire, during which time many such figures were produced and widely distributed for domestic use. Such figures, later pejoratively referred to as 'idols', depicted deities carrying or standing with animals. -
Western Asiatic White Stone Bead Necklace String
1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £39
Composed of mainly oblate beads; restrung. 13.17 grams, 42 cm
From the London, UK, art market in the 1990s. 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.
