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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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Luristan Bronze Cup with Star Handle
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Barrel-shaped in profile with thick rim and loop handle; ropework detailing to rim, three radiating spouts below the rim, handle with lateral spurs. 370 grams, 20 cm wide
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Aramaic Magic Bowl Group
4th-8th century A.D. and laterEstimate: £500 - 700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Comprising: large domed vessel with rounded rim and four painted segments each with repeated symbols; plus a smaller non ancient conical vessel with inturned rim, painted legend in three concentric rings and symbol to centre. 388 grams total, 9.1-16.5 cm
Acquired on the German art market, 1989-1995. with The Museum Gallery, 19 Bury Place, London, WC1, UK, 1998-2003. Property of a London based academic, 2003-present. 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.
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.
