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LOT 1105
Urartu Alabaster Stamp Seal
8TH-7TH CENTURY B.C.
5/8 in. (3.36 grams, 16 mm).
Bifacial round seal with mythical creatures, likely winged ibexes; pierced hole for suspension.
ProvenanceEx London, UK, collection, before 1988.
LiteratureCf. for the iconography Sass, B., Uehlinger, C., Studies in the iconography of northwest semitic inscribed seals: Proceedings of a symposium held in Fribourg on April 17-20, 1991, Zurich, 1993, p.59, fig.16.
FootnotesAnimal-headed creatures are often winged bird-headed figures with human body in the Urartu and Northern-Syrian seals of ‘dnplţ ‘bd ‘mndb type, but often winged, apparently ibex-headed figures appear on the seals of the type bqšt bt ‘bdyrh. The ibex-headed figures might belong to same group of semi-divine beings visible on the Assyrian art.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1105
Urartu Alabaster Stamp Seal
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
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Mesopotamian Terracotta Pouring Vessel
3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £500 - 700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Formed as a pouring vessel with carinated body and short cylindrical spout, neck decorated with three concentric bands of pricked dots, incised bands below, combed chevrons to the equator featuring three raised knops to the rear. 438 grams, 11.8 cm wide
Acquired in Europe before 1990. -
Mesopotamian Black Stone Cylinder Seal with Healing Scene
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
With intaglio frieze depicting two tall robed female figures with a sun-disc in mid-air between them and with a smaller figure holding a spear, to the rear a fruit-bearing tree and a third tall figure holding a long tool or weapon; border formed with three vertical lines and a row of triangles; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 33.9 grams, 39 mm
From a Cotswold, UK, collection; as seen and catalogued by the late Professor Wilfrid George Lambert pre 1990. Accompanied by a previous catalogue information slip. -
Mesopotamian Cuneiform Tablet Fragment Group
Early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Comprising two pillow-shaped tablets with cuneiform text; another restored from fragments; one irregular circular fragment. 202 grams total, 40-69 mm
Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. 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. This small collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples.
