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LOT 1494
Western Asiatic Bronze Jewellery Punch
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 in. (8.9 grams, 27 mm).
Skittle-shaped with three figures on the flat face.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
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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LOT 1494
Western Asiatic Bronze Jewellery Punch
Estimate £120 - 170€140 - 200 (for guidance only)$160 - 230 (for guidance only)
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Achaemenid Elaborate Gold Earring
Circa 5th century B.C.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,500
Crescent plaque with granulated inner borders and radiating triangles of granulation surrounded by a band of nineteen spheres, representing pomegranates, each with a filigree collar above and below, the outer band consisting of smaller spheres with a granulated pyramidal finial, at the centre a teardrop-shaped garnet cabochon set in a cell with a granulated border flanked by spirals. 13.55 grams, 51 mm
Ex David Lindhal, London, UK, in the 1990s. From a privately held London, UK, collection from the 1980s-1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13267-253966.
Fruits were generally considered to be a symbol of sensuality, temptation and fertility; the giving and accepting of fruit may be regarded as a symbolic sexual act, or at least a prelude to marriage. It follows naturally that the pomegranate, with its innumerable fleshy seeds symbolising life and fecundity, was an attribute of Aphrodite. -
Western Asiatic Stone Cylinder Seal Group
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
Comprising: running zigzag motif; horse and chariot; bird and quadruped in profile; lion leaping on a hero with spear; each supplied with a museum-quality impression. 29.4 grams total, 15.4-24 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Old Babylonian Terracotta Head of a Demon
Circa 1900-1800 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Modelled in the round, depicting the (severed?) head of a Mesopotamian demon, with iconic facial features in relief; hollow with a vent to the neck; produced from a two-piece mould, with a median seam through the facial features. 191 grams, 87 mm
Private collection, Israel. with Holy Land House of Antiquities, Jerusalem, 1980s. Acquired by the current owner from the above, 2001. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12878-241678.
Within traditional Mesopotamian religion, Humbaba was a creature regarded as the guardian of the cedar forest and the brother of Pazuzu. He was represented as a giant who had been raised by the sun god, Shamash. However, this head could also refer to another deity or demon, like one of the heads found in the Kish excavations.