Western Asiatic Agate Bead Necklace String

Comprising: large domed vessel with rounded rim and four painted segments each with repeated symbols; plus a smaller non ancient conical vessel with inturned rim, painted legend in three concentric rings and symbol to centre. 388 grams total, 9.1-16.5 cm



Acquired on the German art market, 1989-1995. with The Museum Gallery, 19 Bury Place, London, WC1, UK, 1998-2003. Property of a London based academic, 2003-present. 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.

These simple ceramic bowls, also known as magic bowls, each contain an Aramaic inscription, written in ink, which spirals from the centre. The bowls seem to have played an important part in domestic life. For example, during excavation in Nippur in 1889, one or more incantation bowls were found in each house together with domestic artefacts, most often in doorways or under floorboards in the corner of rooms. The bowls are predominantly apotropaic, and the inscriptions tend to protect their owners from misfortunes such as those faced in child-birth, illness and evil spirits.

Corner fragment from a high-relief pictorial panel with raised border; domed dais with low-relief scaled detailing; lower legs and sandaled feet in advancing pose with ankle-length open-fronted robe, horizontal woven texture and curled fleece; high-relief stele with flared base, bulbous upper and sugar-loaf finial; pitted surface, with tooling to reverse. 2.81 kg, 24.3 cm



Ex German collection, c.1980. with Toufic Arakji, Hamburg, 1997. Private collection, Europe. 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 no.12579-232134. 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.

Stylistically, the figure seems to be linked to the kingdom of Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 B.C.) or his son Shalmaneser III (858-824 B.C.). The exposed lower leg with exaggerated musculature is seen in many Assyrian and Babylonian depictions of divine and heroic figures. The position of the figure, corresponding to some reliefs kept in the Louvre, where a spirit is worshipping a poppy flower (Houston, 1954, pl.V.1), and the high-relief carving strongly refer to a cult scene.

Hemispherical in profile with basal ring, painted rim and trefoil motif on a textured field. 651 grams, 25 cm wide



Acquired before 1978. Private collection, UK. 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.