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LOT 0227
Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet Group with Legal Texts
LATE 3RD-EARLY 2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 3/4 - 2 in. (90 grams total, 45-51 mm).
Comprising two pillow-shaped clay tablets comprising: one in dark brown material, cuneiform text to both broad faces and one edge, polished surface, end of the third millennium but with an Akkadian administrative text; one in tan-coloured material, cuneiform text to both broad faces and three edges, a legal text from the beginning of the second millennium. [2]
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1970s.
European private collection.
Cf. similar item in the British Museum, London, under accession number 1989,0130.4/ BM No.140855 and published in MacGregor, N., A History of the World in 100 Objects, London, 2010 (cat.no.15, pp.90-94).
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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LOT 0227
Sumerian Cuneiform Tablet Group with Legal Texts
Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
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Sassanian Haematite Seal
4th-7th century A.D.Estimate: £200 - 300 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Plano-convex stamp seal with design of two scorpions placed tête-bêche; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 8 grams, 17 mm
Acquired in Europe in 1997. European private collection. -
Western Asiatic Stone Lion Pendant
14th-16th century A.D. or laterEstimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £80
Carved in the round with low-relief mane and facial details, loop behind the shoulders. 58 grams, 58 mm
Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971. -
Fragmentary Jewish Magic Bowl with Aramaic Incantation Against Evil Spirits and Drawing of the Devil
Circa 4th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Broad terracotta bowl with extensive inked inscription and symbols to the inner face; repaired and partly disassembled. 382 grams total, 9-17 cm
From an important family collection, London and Geneva.
Aramaic incantation bowls are particular to the Sassanian period and have been found in regions of modern Iraq. These simple ceramic bowls, also known as magic bowls, each contain an Aramaic inscription, written in ink, which spirals from the centre. The bowls seem to have played an important part in domestic life. For example, during excavation in Nippur in 1889, one or more incantation bowls were found in each house together with domestic artefacts, most often in doorways or under floorboards in the corner of rooms. The bowls are predominantly apotropaic, and the inscriptions tend to protect their owners from misfortunes such as those faced in child-birth, illness and evil spirits.
