Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 1450
West Central Asian Bronze Stamp Seal with Horned Beast
CIRCA 2300-2000 B.C.
1 1/4 in. (12.5 grams, 31 mm).
Zoomorphic stamp with loop handle to 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. 27.5x35x13 mm. This bears the shape of what is depicted. The face is flat and compartmented, and the back is flat also with look of sheet metal for suspension. The design shows the face of a horned quadruped frontally, with drooping ears and stout horns, but with one big central eye. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-2000 B.C. It is a rare design and in good condition.'
Provenance
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.
VETTING:
TimeLine 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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
.jpg)
Sumerian Cylinder Seal with Fish
3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
With geometric 'stylised fish' motif; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 2.49 grams, 14.09 mm
Acquired in the 1996. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. -
Western Asiatic Pale Stone Bead Necklace String
1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £26
Composed mainly of annular beads interspersed with barrel-shaped beads, restrung to a Y-shape. 12.27 grams, 30.6 cm
From London, UK, gallery collection, 1990s. -
Early Proto-Elamite Silver Horned Bull Pendant
3100-2900 B.C.Estimate: £20,000 - 30,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £10,000
Representing an exquisite bull figure standing with his head turned dramatically to the left, depicted with large curled horns and inlaid white stone eyes, formed from thin hammered silver sheet in repoussé, depicting the bull as a hollow pendant, with the interior filled with natural bitumen; traces of an original suspension loop on the shoulder. 54.5 grams, 70 mm wide
with Mahboubian Gallery, New York, acquired prior to 1969. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13140-249434.
Objects of this type are understood to be ritual or votive pendants, produced not for everyday wear but primarily for dedication in temple contexts. Bulls, goats, rams and other herd animals with horns were thematically abundant in the Ancient Near East, especially around the Iranian plateau circumscribed by the Zagros and Elbruz Mountains and multiple deserts. There are representations of bulls as pendants or votive statuettes (Mahboubian,1997, pp.59, 213, 224, 225, 225, 235, 240), vessel stands (Mahboubian, 1997, pp.40-41), vessel protomes and rhytons from Mesopotamia to Caucasus.
