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LOT 1408
Uruk Stone Stamp Seal
4TH-3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 in. (13.15 grams, 27 mm).
Square in plan with incuse standing quadruped motif.
ProvenanceEx 'S' collection, London, UK, 1970s-1990s.
Accompanied by a copy of a previous illustrated catalogue slip.
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AUCTIONS:
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Elamite Silver-Gilt Pendants with Carnelian Beads
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £700 - 900 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £350
Restrung group comprising fusiform carnelian beads, silver spacer beads, hollow-formed domed pendants with rosette detailing, second loop beneath for use on a two-tiered necklace. 54.53 grams, 57 cm
Acquired before 1983. Ex London gallery, 1990s. Private collection, London, UK. -
West Central Asian Bronze Stamp Seal with Sun-Whorl
Circa 2300-2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Discoid stamp seal with segmented face; 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. 39x39x12 mm. This is round with flat compartmented face and flat back on which is mounted a broad handle of inverted U-shape. The design consists of a central circle from which eight curving bands spread to the edge, creating a whorl, the bands being hatched. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-2000 B.C. It is in very good condition and the hatching on the base of the compartments is unusual.' 24.5 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. -
Achaemenid Silver Phiale with Central Rosette
5th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,705
Squat lotiform bowl with wide everted rim, central domed mesomphalos with rosette detailing, some restoration to the rim; with custom-made box. 240 grams, 13.7 cm wide
Ex London, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13067-248447.
This bowl is possibly part of a set of nearly identical vessels, probably used at the table of a high-status household, potentially that of a satrap. Persian governors (satrapes) used banquets to display their wealth and power by imitating royal banquets. It was a great honour for them to receive a drinking vessel such as this as a gift from the King of the Kings, thereby establishing their status as royal dinner guests. No doubt it took practice to drink adeptly from a vessel like this, yet the omphalos in the base would have made it easier to hold with one hand, with the middle finger hooked inside the indentation and the thumb stretched out to grip the vessel at or near the rim.