Urartu Copper Figure of a Goddess

Squat-bodied with a broad, rounded shoulder and base, short neck and flat everted rim. 1.95 kg, 13.7 cm



with Gerhard Hirsch Nachf, Germany, Auction 238|239, February 2005, no.107. Acquired by the present owner from the above. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12256-222173. 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.

Ellipsoid in plan and plano-convex in section, reverse with invocation scene: on a baseline a kilted figure advancing towards an altar with flames, holding a cup and a plate; altar flanked by two crouching winged bulls with human heads; perching eagle to right with amphora; above a winged sun-disc and rectangular object; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 18.4 grams, 32 mm



From the Fadel family collection, London, UK, 1970s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12769-237265. 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.

The seal shows elements belonging to the period of the Achaemenid dynasty: the winged solar disc, symbol of the supreme god, Ormadz; the fire altar in the centre, a typically Zoroastrian element. The costume of the offerant is also decidedly Persian, with a short tunic at the knees and trousers of the saravara type.

With two rows of human and animal figures, restrung pair of red stone beads, old handwritten label '1544'; 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: 'Description of Cylinder Seal of Red Jasper, 37 x 12 mm. The upper register shows a seated figure with one arm raised, the other resting on the waist, a human hand(?) between knees and raised arm; two recumbent quadrupeds one above the other, one winged; two standing stags sideways, with heads turned back. The lower register shows, in a scene marked off by a ladder pattern, three standing humans with both hands raised before a tent-like structure with some object affixed to its upper front, two dots behind the structure. The registers are separated by a line with a row of simple crosses beneath it. This is in a rare Levantine style of c. 1500-1000 B.C. The lower register seems to show an act of worship. The condition is almost fine save for a little chipping at the bottom'; accompanied by a museum-quality impression. 10.2 grams, 37 mm



UK private collection, acquired 1980-1983. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in 1987. 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.