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LOT 0304
Sumerian Limestone Bull Head Protome
3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
5 3/4 in. (1.24 kg total, 14.5 cm high including stand).
With large eyes, the pupils inlaid in black chlorite, bone insert for the sclerae, three arching grooved brows, the wide muzzle with a horizontal incision between the nostrils, closed mouth; sockets to the sides of the head to accept separately made horns and ears; the edge of the neck contoured for attachment; mounted on a custom-made display stand.
ProvenancePrivate European collection, 1985.
with Christie’s, New York, 3 June 2009, no.35.
Private collection, Europe.
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.12358-226703.
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.
Cf. Woolley, L., Medio Oriente, Milano, 1961, for a comparison with a famous gold bull’s head from the Ur’s lyre; Settgast, J., Von Troja bis Amarna, The Norbert Schimmel Collection, Mainz, 1978, no.120, for a club head with similar bull heads; Kramer, S.N., I Sumeri, alle radici della storia, Milano, 1979; see also a copper-alloy head in the British Museum, from Ubaid (Museum Number 118015) in Spicket, A., La statuaire du Proche-Orient Ancien, Leiden, 1981, p.137; Van Dijk-Coombes, R. M., ‘Mesopotamian Gods and the Bull’ in Sociedades Precapitalistas, 8(1), December 2018, pp.1-15.
FootnotesIn Sumerian mythology, the bull was associated with the storm and rain god Hadad (Iškur), and is widely represented on artworks (Woolley, 1961, pp.46, 52; Kramer, 1979, figs.17, 18, 22). The round inlaid eyes are typical of Sumerian art of Early Dynastic Period, as well as the triple eyebrows.
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Western Asiatic Black Stone Recumbent Bull
1st millennium B.C. or laterEstimate: £400 - 600 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £222
Carved in the round with its legs tucked underneath the body, stylised head with large almond-shaped eyes and incised details to the muzzle, large hump to the neck. 86 grams, 59 mm
From a collection formed before 1988, London and Geneva. 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. -
Sasanian Bronze Ring with Gemstone
4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
Comprising a slender hoop and wide bezel, intaglio engraved with a facing bearded bust. 2.85 grams, 22.66 mm overall, 19.92 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N 1/2, USA 6 3/4, Europe 14.35, Japan 13)
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. 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. -
Jemdet Nasr Type Green Stone Cylinder Seal
Circa 3000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
Cylinder with cord and bead handles; accompanied by a copy of an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder Seal of Translucent Green Stone 28 x 21 mm. The design consists of three rows of three fish, two rows moving in one direction, one row moving in the other direction. Tis is a seal in the Jemdet Nasr Style, dating to c. 3000 B.C., from Sumer or south west Iran. the design is deeply cut and the seal is in very good state of preservation. The fish is probably a symbol of the god Enki god of the waters below the earth, and in later periods of art often associated with fish.'; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 22.7 grams, 28 mm
UK private collection, acquired 1980-1983. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in May 1992. 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.
