Western Asiatic Agate Cylinder Seal with Two Registers

Pillow-shaped with columnar ribbing to the broad faces, dense cuneiform text in the columns. 57.2 grams, 63 mm



Private collection of Mr K., Maryland, USA. Private collection, Switzerland, acquired in 2000. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate no.12893-241757.

The 2nd millennium B.C. (about 2000–1000 B.C.) was an important period in the ancient Near East, when major civilisations such as the Babylonians, Assyrians, Hittites, and Egyptians grew in power and influence. It was a time of progress in trade, government, law, and writing, helping us understand how people lived and worked. Cuneiform tablets, which are small clay tablets written in one of the earliest writing systems, were widely used to record business, legal matters, letters, and stories. When these tablets are found outside their place of origin, it can show connections through trade, travel, or official communication, offering insight into both the ancient world and how such objects later moved through collections.

With a conical lower body, broad rounded shoulder and four radiating integral pierced lugs; narrow neck and broad flat rim to the mouth. 2.2 kg, 18.5 cm wide



Acquired on the French art market, formerly in a French collection since the 1970s. with Bonhams, London, 1 May 2013, no.162. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonhams catalogue pages.

Leaf-shaped blade with rounded shoulders and a pierced rectnagular-section tang. 221 grams, 33.3 cm



Ex Abelita collection, 1980-2010.