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LOT 1149
Tel Halaf Mother Goddess Fertility Figure
6TH MILLENNIUM B.C.
3 3/8 in. (71 grams, 86 mm).
Modelled in the round crouching female figure with hands supporting the breasts, knees drawn up, pinched facial features and applied-band headdress; pigment detailing to shoulders and thighs; restored. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired in York, Yorkshire, UK.
Ex P. Watson collection, UK, 1990s.
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.
In the 7th millennium BC, cultures in the Near East began creating organised settlements with developed religious and funerary practices. The Halaf culture of Anatolia and northern Syria produced a variety of figures representing females and associated with fertility. It is not known whether figures such as this were intended to represent real, ideal, or divine women. However, scholars believe that their primary purpose was to encourage female fertility.
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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Western Asiatic Bronze Ring with Processional Figures
1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £40
Longitudinally ribbed hoop with slightly flared bezel, two engraved figures with objects in the field. 7.10 grams, 24.85 mm overall, 18.45 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P, USA 7 1/2, Europe 16.23, Japan 15)
Acquired 1979-1999. London collection of the late Mr S.M., thence by descent. 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. -
Western Asiatic Glass Bead with Millefiori
Late 1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
Barrel-shaped with eccentric vertical hole, inset millefiori panels. 27.5 grams, 29 mm
Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s. London, UK, collection. 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. -
Mitanni Faience Cylinder Seal with Worship Scenes
Circa 1500-1200 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £364
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 Faience with Turquoise Glaze 30.5 x 14.5 mm. The design consists of a stylized sacred tree and either side of it a standing stag with rump next to the tree, but head turned back. The end of the scene is marked by a simple guilloche in vertical position. The design is framed by a line above and another beneath. This seal is Mitanni, c. 1500-1200 B.C., and from anywhere between Syria and Western Kurdistan. It is a product of the Hurrian civilisation of the area, and the stylized tree is a symbol of the storm god, Hurrian Teshub, Babylonian Adad, Hebrew Hadad or Baal. The tree has a central trunk terminating in a bud, and three branches off each side similarly terminating in buds.The stags occur commonly on Mitanni seals, but while they may well be symbolic, it is not known of what they may be the symbol. The guilloche is a standard decorative filler of the period. Faience is a manufactured substance, comparable to the modern porcelain. In the ground it often deteriorates over the centuries and has a powdery surface. This one, however, is in exceptionally fine condition, the only mark of its age being that the glaze has lost something of its original colour. In this excellent condition, such seals are rare.'; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 6.51 grams, 30 mm
From the private collection of a North American lady, formed 1970s-early 1990s, with collection reference no.P30. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert dated September 1990. 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.
