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LOT 0241
South Arabian Alabaster Plaque with Bull's Head
3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
7 7/8 in. (2.09 kg total, 19.8 cm including stand).
Comprising a square panel with a bull's head in low-relief, striated eyes and flaring nostrils, a thick tuft of hair arranged between the eyes, shallow acanthus leaf between curved horns, inscription on the rectangular space at the bottom of the panel; 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.
Cf. Cleveland R.L., An Ancient South Arabian Necropolis, objects from the second campaign (1951) in the Timna Cemetery, Baltimore, 1951, pp.36ff, and pl.61ss, for similar examples (esp.61).
FootnotesThe presence of these representations in South Arabian cemeteries attests to the importance of the bull in the religious iconography of pre-Islamic Arabia.
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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Western Asiatic Agate Bovine Amulet
4th-3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Carved as a recumbent bovine with drilled eye, pierced through the upper edge; concave reverse. 8.87 grams, 35 mm
From a collection of a Devonshire, UK, gentleman established from the mid 1990s. -
Western Asiatic Painted Terracotta Jar
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Globular in profile with trumpet-shaped neck and mouth, circumferential painted bands and roundels. 1.41 kg, 23 cm
From the collection of a London, UK, gentleman, 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. -
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
12th-10th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Including triangular, barbed-and-tanged, leaf-shaped, and other types. 266 grams total, 49-108 mm
Ex London art market, 1980-1990s. 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.
Some of these arrowheads seem to belong to the type V, subcategory types A, C and D according to the classification of Khorasani and Negahban. In the four categories of triangular bronze arrowheads from Luristan, Marlik and Northern Iran individuated by Negahban, subtypes C and D of type V are larger arrow or javelin heads, C with barbed shoulders and D with round shoulders. Subtype A is substantially similar to C, but smaller.
