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LOT 0207
Sumerian Bone Face Mask
CIRCA 3000 B.C.
2 1/4 in. (50 grams, 59 mm).
D-shaped in plan and plano-convex in section with large ellipsoid voids for the eyes, high-relief facial features.
ProvenanceAcquired between 1981-1996.
Property of a North American collector.
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AUCTIONS:
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Sogdian Silver Cup with Incised Design
7th-8th century A.D.Estimate: £6,000 - 8,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £3,000
Comprising a tapering sidewall with carination and convex underside, trumpet-shaped foot with beaded rim; D-shaped thumb-pad to the rim with narrow chamfered handle and spur beneath; frieze of fronds reserved against a pounced field. 67.7 grams, 86 mm
Old Belgian private collection, 1970s. Acquired on the Brussels art market, 2008. 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.12908-242700.
Footed silver cups with ring handles were well known in Central Asia and were common in Sogdian silverwork of the 7th – 8th century A.D. The low beaded foot and the ring handle with lobed thumb rest are well documented in Sogdian silver attributed to the same period. The plant and floral decoration finds parallel with a silver bowl from Xijao (Marshak, 1999, fig.6), which shows the same low beaded foot of our cup. This decoration is also visible on a vessel from the Malaya Perescepina treasure, sent by the Emperor Heraclius to the Bulgarian Khan Kuvrat. Heraclius took it together with other precious objects as war booty after defeating the Sasanians in 627-628 A.D. -
Large Western Asiatic Terracotta Statue Head
Late 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
A hollow-formed figure or idol head with conical cap, pinched facial form, applied brows and other detailing; mounted on a stand. 600 grams, 16 cm
Fine condition.
Property of a Cambridgeshire lady; formerly in the Igor Karmiloff collection (1925-2016), UN economist and author of Flashbacks, Icons of Impermanence, Bloomington, 2009; acquired in the 1950s-early 1990s. From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent. -
Third Dynasty of Ur Brown Stone Cylinder Seal with Worship Scene
Circa 2060-2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Showing two goddesses and a worshipper; accompanied by a museum quality impression and a copy of an old scholarly note by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder seal of brown stone, 26 x 13 mm. Seated goddess to right, raising a hand, before her a minor goddess introducing a worshipper, both raising a hand. Crescent in sky. Third Dynasty of Ur, c. 2060-2000 B.C. Good engraving, very good condition.' 7.6 grams, 25 mm
From the private collection of a North American lady, formed 1970s-early 1990s, with collection reference no.192. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, handwritten and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert and an old photograph.
