Western Asiatic Dish with Star

A copper-alloy penannular armband with shallow D-section hoop and terminals formed as stylised ram-heads each with exaggerated coiled horns, circular eyes set with cream-coloured beads and shallow semi-circular muzzles; transverse bands of geometric motifs along the neck. 620 grams, 10.4 cm wide



with a London, UK gallery 1971-early 2000s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11643-199677.

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.

A bifacial, lentoid-section rectangular clay tablet with rounded corners and short sides, medial horizontal line to each face, with hand-drawn pictographs above and below, a count of sheep and caprids. 42 grams, 66 mm wide



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. The collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11637-198551.

Early writing was used primarily as a means of recording economic data; this tablet likely records deliveries and distributions of grain. At the end of the 4th millennium B.C., written language developed in Mesopotamia as pictographs, later evolving into abstract forms called cuneiform. Pictographs were drawn in the clay with a pointed implement. Circular impressions alongside the pictographs represented numerical symbols. Cuneiform (meaning wedge-shaped) script was written by pressing a reed pen or stylus with a wedge-shaped tip into a clay tablet.

A hemispherical bronze bowl with rounded base, convex lip to the inner rim. 218 grams, 13.1 cm



Previously in a private collection since the 1990s. Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher.