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LOT 1529
Western Asiatic Bronze Flat Axe
2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
7 1/4 in. (264 grams, 18.5 cm).
Trapezoid blade with narrow butt and curved cutting edge, rectangular in cross-section. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
LiteratureCf. MacGregor, A. (ed.), Antiquities from Europe and the Near East in the Collection of Lord McAlpine of West Green, Oxford, 1987, item 17.10, for type.
FootnotesThis was one of the commonest tool types in the Early and Middle Cypriot Bronze Age, but rarer in the Late Bronze Age. These axes were fixed to a wooden shaft with thongs.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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Western Asiatic Polished Bronze Bowl
Late 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Shallow body with gently sloping walls. 175 grams, 17 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s. -
Mesopotamian Clay Bulla with Clay Tokens
Uruk, 3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £975
Spherical, undecorated bulla envelope containing clay tokens. 74 grams, 50 mm
Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. Thence by descent to family members. Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This small collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well-preserved examples. Accompanied by a previous cataloguing slip.
Small globular and hollow clay balls are defined as 'bulla'. They are also known as ‘bulla-envelopes', some of which are plain and some displaying epigraphic, zoomorphic and/or figural decoration, impressed by either cylinder or stamp seals. Bullae first emerged in Mesopotamia, and their earliest occurrence can be traced to circa 8000 B.C. Most known decorated bullae come from the Uruk area and offer an insight into its culture. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Seal with Gryphon
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Rectangular block with recurved wire handle; incuse profile gryphon motif. 4.31 grams, 19 mm
Ex London, UK, gentleman's collection by descent, 1980s.
