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LOT 0206
Western Asiatic Bronze Statuette of a Kneeling Priest
LATE 3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.
3 1/4 in. (359 grams, 83 mm).
Modelled as a kneeling priest wearing a knee-length kilt, the long hair combed back from the face and extending down the back, arms bent, and fists clenched, resting on the belt, recessed to the underside.
ProvenanceEx London family collection, since the 1970s.
Accompanied by a report of metallurgical analytical results, written by Metallurgist Dr Brian Gilmour of the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13313-258236.
Cf. Carter, M.L., Goldstein, S., Harper, P.O., Kawami, T.S., Meyers, P., Splendors of the Ancient East, Antiquities from the al-Sabah collection, London, 2013, fig.5, for a similar statuette of a kneeling man from Early Dynastic Ur, 2650-2550 B.C.
FootnotesThis powerful figure was probably lost-wax cast in arsenical copper, as were many Near Eastern bronzes of the 3rd millennium. He is muscular with broad shoulders, a strong chest and a well-toned, rippling abdomen. The pleated long garment is typical of the Mesopotamian men. Very interesting is his praying gesture, which is typical of the statuette of Ur culture.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0206
Western Asiatic Bronze Statuette of a Kneeling Priest
Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,720
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Western Asiatic Ceramic and Other Bead Necklace String
1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £13
Graduated group of mainly oblate beads with a large cylindrical feature bead; restrung. 44.5 grams, 37 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex London, UK, collection. -
Western Asiatic Terracotta Bowl with Painted Birds
4th-3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £333
With a rounded underside and flared rim; painted asterisk to centre, hatched chevrons to mouth with profile birds in the voids; early Iranian workmanship. 298 grams, 16 cm wide
Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s. London, UK, collection. -
Large West Central Asian Bronze Scalloped Seal Matrix with Greek Cross
Circa 2300-2000 B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Openwork seal with a loop on the reverse, accompanied by an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Stamp Seal of Bronze 50.5 x 49 16 mm. This is round with scalloped outer edge. The face is flat, as is the back, on which is mounted a handle of inverted U-shape. The design, which is both compartmented and open-work, consists of central cross with curving arms with struts between the arms to the outer band with scalloped outer rim. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-200 B.C. There is incrustation on the surface, and the outer rim is slightly dented, but generally the pieve is in good condition.' 26.7 grams, 50 mm
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Ex property of a West London businessman. Academically researched and catalogued by the late Professor Lambert in the early 1990s. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly report, numbered U-22, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert.
