Loading, please wait...
LOT 0287
South Arabian Alabaster Male Head
LATE 2ND-3RD CENTURY A.D.
7 in. (1.17 kg total, 18 cm high including stand).
Carved in the round with deep-set eyes and broad aquiline nose; hair and short beard modelled with stippled surface; slender neck; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenanceFormerly private European collection.
with Christie's, New York, 7 December 1995, no.116.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12262-222127.
See Simpson, J. (ed.): Queen of Sheba:Treasures From Ancient Yemen, London, 2002, items 264-267.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0287
South Arabian Alabaster Male Head
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000€4,640 - 6,960 (for guidance only)$5,400 - 8,100 (for guidance only)
-
Western Asiatic Banded Agate Animal Bead
1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
Carved in the round, bottle-sjaped with ribbed band of hair or fur, ring-and-dot eyes. 2.93 grams, 20 mm
Private collection, England. -
Sumerian Terracotta Bulla
4th millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
A bulla with oval stamped impression of two animals. 147 grams, 60 mm
Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1988. 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. Accompanied by a copy of a previous catalogue page.
Small globular and hollowed clay balls are defined as 'bulla'. They are also known as ‘bulla-envelopes', some of which are plain and some displaying epigraphic, zoomorphic and/or figural decoration, impressed by either cylinder or stamp seals. Bulla first emerged in Mesopotamia and their earliest occurrence can be traced to circa 8000 B.C. Most know decorated bullae come from the Uruk area and offer an insight into its culture. This bulla represents a religious scene, indicated by the combination of the pyramid-shaped byre and the 'sacred herd', which are seen on the early Uruk seals. The symbol of the Mother-Goddess, presented in conjunction with the representations of sheep herd and byre, gave such imagery symbolic significance. The impression with two sheep depicted under the byre, might have been impressed by a stamp seal of the early Uruk period. -
Western Asiatic Pottery Raised Tripod Dish
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Shallow discoid bowl with three slender slanting legs, loop handle below rim. 635 grams, 19.5 cm wide
From the collection of a gentleman, 1988-2000s.