Western Asiatic Glass and Stone Bead Necklace String

Bell-shaped body with a ribbed loop above, the underside with an incuse image of a horned quadruped; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 9.88 grams, 27 mm



Acquired before 1983. Ex London gallery, 1990s. Private collection, London, UK.

With incuse frieze; accompanied by an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder Seal of Hematite 26 x 13. The scene consists of two pairs of figures. In the one pair the noon-god Sin is seated on an angular stool, with small footstool. He is wearing a horned tiara and long flounced robe, and holds up a pole with the lunar crescent on the top. In front of him stands a Lahmu-hero, nude save for a triple-stranded belt, with big beard and curls either side of his face, clasping his hands. The other pair consists of a standing god in horned tiara and long pleated robe open at the front, from which one leg projects with foot resting on a snake-dragon. This god holds up a wedge in one hand. Facing him is a worshiper in a long pleated robe, offering in his arms a kid to the god. There is one filler: a large fly. This is an Old Babylonian seal, from Mesopotamia, c. 1900-1700 B.C. It is in good condition, and is an interesting example of its type; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 11.86 grams, 25 mm



Private collection, London, UK. Accompanied by a copy of an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1992.

Pillow-shaped with incised grid to the broad faces, dense cuneiform text in the columns with impressed pellet numerals. 236 grams, 89 mm



Private collection, acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s; thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13179-249318.

Various collections of cuneiform tablets form a corpus of texts mainly of an administrative nature, from the Uruk III and Ur III periods. The proto-cuneiform, as a system of proto-writing, emerged in Mesopotamia ca.3500-3200 BC, during the Uruk period.