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LOT 1106
Western Asiatic Bronze Standing Idol
EARLY 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
4 in. (58.6 grams, 10 cm including stand).
Modelled standing erect with the arms bent forwards, head tilted upwards, with incised lines for the belt; the head pear-shaped with square chin; mounted on a custom-made stand. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
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AUCTIONS:
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Achaemenid Bronze Rhyton with Horned Lion
5th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £8,450
With a curved tapering body, the protome formed as a mythical horned lion with folded wings, mouth with a hole and large hollow eyes to accept inlay, the short, dense mane marked with vertical grooves. 748 grams, 16 cm
From a private family collection formed since the early 19th century, thence by descent. Property of a New Zealand legal professional. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12325-223713. -
Luristan Bronze Mace Head
Early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £325
Comprising a long cylindrical shaft with narrow flanged base, the upper section with three vertical relief panels decorated by round spikes alternated with wavy pattern, divided and bordered by two parallel ridges, similar band with three ridged horizontal grooves at the top and around the base. 357 grams, 19.3 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
This gorz mace head belongs to the category of truncheon-shaped mace-heads, a type developed on the Iranian plateau during the Bronze Age, used by Elamite and Luristan warriors since the 3rd millennium B.C. This category of objects was also interpreted as a part of a shaft, but most scholars agree on the interpretation of use as a mace. -
Sumerian Limestone Bull Head Protome
3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £40,000 - 60,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £20,000
With large eyes, the pupils inlaid in black chlorite, bone insert for the sclerae, three arching grooved brows, the wide muzzle with a horizontal incision between the nostrils, closed mouth; sockets to the sides of the head to accept separately made horns and ears; the edge of the neck contoured for attachment; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 1.24 kg total, 14.5 cm high including stand
Private European collection, 1985. with Christie’s, New York, 3 June 2009, no.35. Private collection, Europe. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12358-226703.
In Sumerian mythology, the bull was associated with the storm and rain god Hadad (Iškur), and is widely represented on artworks (Woolley, 1961, pp.46, 52; Kramer, 1979, figs.17, 18, 22). The round inlaid eyes are typical of Sumerian art of Early Dynastic Period, as well as the three eyebrows.