Western Asiatic Glass Gaming Piece and Bead Collection

Carved with detailed regardant head; pierced for suspension. 37.3 grams, 50 mm



with a London, UK gallery 1971-early 2000s. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Modelled in the round crouching female figure with hands supporting the breasts, knees drawn up, pinched facial features and applied-band headdress; pigment detailing to shoulders and thighs; restored. 71 grams, 86 mm



Acquired in York, Yorkshire, UK. Ex P. Watson collection, UK, 1990s. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

In the 7th millennium BC, cultures in the Near East began creating organised settlements with developed religious and funerary practices. The Halaf culture of Anatolia and northern Syria produced a variety of figures representing females and associated with fertility. It is not known whether figures such as this were intended to represent real, ideal, or divine women. However, scholars believe that their primary purpose was to encourage female fertility.

Cylinder with cord and bead handles; accompanied by a copy of an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Description of Cylinder Seal of soft, black stone, 29 x 18 mm. A scene is contained within upper and lower rules and a ladder pattern repeated at left and right. The main figure is a standing deity holding up items in each raised hand. he wears a pointed cap and might be meant as Hadad/Teshub/Baal, the storm god, but the symbols held are not sufficiently clear to be certain. In front of him is a small figure of human form, and three horned quadrupeds; behind him is a bird, a fish(?) and a scorpion. Vacant spaces are filled with dots, and linear devices. The seal is a typical "Levantine" cylinder c. 1200-1000 B.C. from Syria or Anatolia. it is cut with a hand-held pointed graving tool and the drill. Though worn, the design is completely clear.'; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 9.72 grams, 28 mm



UK private collection, acquired 1980-1983. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in October 1987. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.