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LOT 0230
Sumerian Terracotta 'Bulla Envelope' with Impressed Decoration
URUK PERIOD, CIRCA 5500-3100 B.C.
2 1/2 in. (190 grams, 64 mm).
Complete and of spherical form, containing clay 'tokens'; the outer face impressed with enigmatic motifs.
ProvenanceSpecialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1988.
Thence by descent to family members.
Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples.
Accompanied by a copy of two previous illustrated and typed catalogue pages.
Cf. The Oriental Institute Museum, Woods, C. ed., Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East and Beyond, University of Chicago, 2010, p.68, for this type of object and the whole article for relevant discussion.
FootnotesThe tokens sealed within the bulla are believed to have been used as part of the accounting process in Sumerian or early Uruk agriculture.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0230
Sumerian Terracotta 'Bulla Envelope' with Impressed Decoration
Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,210
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Western Asiatic Black Stone Cylinder Seal with Figural Combat Scene
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Polished haematite cylinder with incuse frieze depicting a standing profile human figure in flounced kilt and mesh tunic brandishing a dagger towards a rearing ibex, with two smaller ovicaprids at his feet, bird above his shoulder; accompanied by a museum-quality impression. 3.28 grams, 21 mm
From a Cotswold, UK, collection, item no.115; as seen and catalogued by the late Professor Wilfrid George Lambert pre 1990.
The late W.G. Lambert was Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham in the period 1970-1993. -
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Neo-Assyrian Winged Gryphon Bone Plaque
Circa 700 B.C.Estimate: £4,000 - 6,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £2,000
Rectangular carved furniture panel with raised frame above and below the central figure modelled in the half-round; the figure an advancing gryphon with head raised and wings spread, hair falling in three locks to the shoulder, tail raised; the wing with raised rims to the feathers forming cells to accept an inlay in contrasting colour; remains of tenons above and below; Phoenician style; mounted on a custom-made stand. 274 grams total, 10 cm wide including stand
Ex Florida collection, purchased from Kelekian, New York, prior to 1970. Acquired by the current owner from the above. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11971-209611.
The figure is shown with the head raised; the example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is very similar, is eating the flowers of a tiered papyrus plant. Many such plaques were manufactured in workshops at Nimrud, but some may have been plundered from the treasuries of defeated enemies. -
Western Asiatic Epigraphic Animal Plaque
18th-19th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Lentoid in plan and curved with two attachment loops to the reverse; low-relief image of a lion with tail arched over the back; solar masl to each and another above the lion's back; the whole surface with dense hatching and grids with text. 22.8 grams, 94 mm
From a UK private collection, before 1980.
