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LOT 0246
Western Asiatic Agate Bifacial Named Calligraphic Gemstone
CIRCA 15TH CENTURY A.D.
5/8 in. (1.63 grams, 17 mm).
Octagonal tabular bifacial panel with incised borders; dense nastaliq script to each face; with old collector's note with transliteration and translation 'Constant hearing with the blessing of the name Muhammed / Sakander Abbas'. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
LiteratureCf. British Museum & British Library, Lasting Impressions, Seals from the Islamic World, London, 2010, for similar intaglios.
FootnotesThe Nastaʿlīq was one of the most important and widespread calligraphic styles used to write Persian. It was developed in Iran in the 8th and 9th centuries. It was also occasionally used to write the original Arabic language, known as taʿliq, for the titles and headings of books or printed publications, but its use was predominant in Persian, Ottoman Turkish, Urdu, and other languages of Perso-Indian influence. Nastaʿlīq is still widespread in Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan for written poetry and as a form of artistic expression (arabesque).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0246
Western Asiatic Agate Bifacial Named Calligraphic Gemstone
Estimate £400 - 600€460 - 700 (for guidance only)$540 - 810 (for guidance only)
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Western Asiatic Faience and Stone Cylinder Seal Group
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Comprising: a cylinder seal showing an advancing Lamassu facing a robed figure with a drawn bow; a cylinder seal with winged beasts; a cylinder seal showing a winged beast facing back and Lamassu; a fragment of a stone cylinder seal showing a standing figure; supplied with museum-quality impressions. 11.94 grams total, 20-27 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Neo-Assyrian Brown Steatite Cylinder Seal with a Dog
Circa 900-700 B.C.Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
The lower half of a cylinder seal showing the bottom part of two Syrian dresses and a sitting dog, a tree and two stars; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 5.38 grams, 16 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. Accompanied by a previous typed catalogue slip with collection no.78. -
Large Neo-Assyrian Cuneiform Frieze Section with Annals for King Ashurnasirpal II
883-859 B.C.Estimate: £7,000 - 9,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £3,500
A stone frieze with four lines of large cuneiform text accompanied by documentation to support that this a section from the annals of King Ashurnasirpal II: 'Ashurnasirpal (II), great king, mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Tukulti-Ninurta (II), great king, mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Adad-nirari (II), great king, mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, valiant man, who acts with the support of the weapons of Assur, his lord, who has no equal among the princes of the four regions, king who has subdued (the territories extending) from the opposite bank of the Tigris to Mount Lebanon and the Great Sea, the entire land of Laqû, the land of Suhu as far as the city of Rapiqu. He conquered the sources of the Subnat river as far as the land of Nirbu…'; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 2.85 kg total, 36.5 cm wide including stand
Belgian private collection, acquired before 1960, and thence by descent to his widow. with Mrs Drees (?), Brussels, acquired from the widow of the above, 2004. with Pierre Bergé & Associés, Paris, 28 October 2006, lot 219. with Gorny & Mosch, Munich, 12 December 2023, lot 416. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13369-258955.
Most of the reliefs and inscriptions of this king are in the British Museum and Louvre. Further holdings are in the New York Historical Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University. They celebrated the glory of the Assyrians at the apogee of their Empire.
