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LOT 0240
Sumerian Alabaster Eye Idol
4TH-3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
2 7/8 in. (298 grams, 72 mm).
Formed as a squat, oblate body and dressed upper with two piercings forming eyes; flat underside.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
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.12186-222131.
See parallel idols in Louvre Museum, accession number SB 9141, for similar; Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no.1988.323.8; British Museum, excavated by Professor Sir Max Edgar Lucien Mallowan, inv. Nos.126473, 126477 and 126479; see also Collon, D., Ancient Near Eastern Art, London, 1995, p.47, for type; for the discussion on Tell Brak, their iconography and the religious meaning of eye idol see Green, J.B. & T.R., Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia, An illustrated dictionary, London, 1992, pp.78-79.
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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Islamic Leather-Bound Manuscript Juz' from the Qur'an by Turkan bin Ahmad
1153 A.H. (1740 A.D.)Estimate: £3,500 - 4,500 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,750
Rebound as a hardback with full leather binding, gold block border to covers and central arabesque foliage panel; 56 laid-paper pages expertly conserved, usage wear to edges repaired and restored, with drypoint lineation; title page with header block of calligraphic thuluth script reserved against a polychrome field with decorative foliage scrolls and blocks of colour; four lines of black script below; second page with similar header block, six lines of text with black and red diacritics and floral embellishments; rest with typically nine lines of text with red and black diacritics, floral motifs with liquid gold pointing; marginal notes and concentric roundel motifs with rosette to the centre and tulip motif above; page 54 with two lines of footnotes. 954 grams, 30.4 x 38 cm
From an important family collection started in the late 1950s. Property of a West London, UK, gentleman. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12279-220401.
The text is a juz' (chapter or internal division) from the Qur'an, the Surah Maryam (of Mary) to the Surah Al-Anbya (of the Prophets), Books 19 to 21. -
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Sassanian Stone Stamp Seal with Ram
3rd-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
The polished plano-convex body drilled for suspension, the ram depicted couchant facing left to base. 3.19 grams, 17 mm
Collected since the 1970s. Ex Everitt collection, acquired by descent 2017. -
Western Asiatic Carnelian Bead Necklace String
1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £65
Restrung group of mainly annular beads with a teardrop dangle centrepiece. 8.52 grams, 39.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
