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LOT 1229
Syrian Steatite Cylinder Seal with Beasts
CIRCA 1300 B.C.
7/8 in. (6.27 grams, 22 mm).
A reused seal with an untrimmed top, showing a beast with a small beast on its back, a man in front, star as a filler motif; supplied with a museum-quality impression. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
Accompanied by a previous typed catalogue slip with collection no.61.
Cf. a similar seal in Buchanan, B., Early Near Eastern Seals in the Yale Babylonian Collection,New Yale and London, New Haven-London, 1981, no.179.
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AUCTIONS:
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Large West Central Asian Bronze Five-Spoked Motif Seal Matrix
Circa 2300-2000 B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Openwork seal matrix with loop handle on the reverse, accompanied by an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Stamp Seal of Bronze, 39 x 39 x 15 mm. This is round, with notched outer edge with flat face and flat back on which a handle of inverted U-shape is mounted. The design is compartmented and partly open-work, perhaps by accident. It consists of five identical linear motifs starting from the edge, curving around and crossing over themselves then curving around in matching fashion and reaching the edge. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-2000 B.C. It is a rare design. There is a little damage to the edge and the centre of the design, but generally it is in good condition.' 38.5 grams, 39 mm
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Ex property of a West London businessman. Academically researched and catalogued by the late Professor Lambert in the early 1990s. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly report, numbered R-745, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert. -
Western Asiatic White Stone Cylinder Seal with Figures
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Frieze comprising a tall standing figure facing, flanked by five similar figures, all joined by horizontal bars at shoulders and hips, doubled borders; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 4.56 grams, 21 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Western Asiatic Steatite Seal with Animals
3300-2900 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Rectangular in plan and triangular in section with a median hole, flat face with incuse frieze of ibexes. 38.9 grams, 61 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Some stamp seals from the period of transition between Jemdat Nasr and the Early Dynastic Period of Ur represent animals, and some scholars suggest that they were probably used as pendants or amulets. The animals are somewhat simplified and often reduced to mere lines: a file of animals usually forms the basis of such a pattern.
