Western Asiatic Bronze Cosmetic Fish Palette

Square in plan and convex in section with tubular piercing, incuse image of a quadruped standing beside a tree. 34.3 grams, 48 mm



Acquired in the 1980s. From the collection of a London antiquarian.

Sturdy bronze penannular bracelet with C-section shank and ram-head detailing to the finials, inlaid shell(?) beads for the nostrils. 620 grams, 10.4 cm



Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s. London, UK, collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12415-225380.

The bracelet is a product of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex ('BMAC', also developed from the 'Oxus Civilization') which was the dominant culture in the 3rd and 2nd millennium (often dated to c.2250-1700 B.C.) in that area, corresponding roughly to modern Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The members of the group practised animal husbandry and a limited form of agriculture, with wheeled carts from the 4th millennium B.C. Its craftsmen were proficient at working metals and alloys including bronze, copper, silver, and gold. Fortified sites with multiple walls are another notable development.

Discoid in plan and lentoid in section, bearing cuneiform scribal work in large characters on both sides. 153 grams, 81 mm



From a specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. Thence by descent to family members and dispersed in 1988 in London and Geneva.

Such scribal 'practise tablets' are always of this round shape: Type IV tablets, also known as 'lentils', are circular tablets containing one or a few lines of a composition written out once by the teacher and then a second time by the student, either underneath (typical of Nippur tablets), or on the reverse. This would appear to be an example of the latter.