Western Asiatic Glass Ribbed Bottle

Black stone with a figure wearing a long robe and horned cap, holding a sceptre, other hand raised in greeting to a central male figure seated on a bull; behind a bearded male figure wearing long robes and horned cap and carrying a sceptre; behind a panel with four rows of cuneiform text. 4.24 grams, 14 mm



From an important North London collection formed in the late 1980s. From a collection acquired from various auction houses in the UK. From the estate of Mr R.W., a private Wiltshire, UK, collector; thence by descent.

Comprising: one with spiralling plaque and pellets to loops on the outer perimeter; one with openwork geometric design composed of central cross and circle in each quarter, embellished with pellets and loops to perimeter; one with a central cross and four loops to the outer edge. 55.1 grams total, 54-69 mm



UK private collection before 2000. On the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman.

Modelled in the round with tight-fitting robe and carefully detailed tiered hairstyle; right hand raised to support a chalice; peg beneath the feet; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 301 grams total, 11 cm including stand



Acquired on the French art market. From 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.

Iberian statuettes from 6th century B.C. were produced under the influence of Greeks and Phoenicians. Small votive offerings of priests, priestesses, and deities in bronze, were found everywhere in Spain. The body of these figurines is often reduced to a rectangular plaque, but the head, as in all these types, is of plastic work, a process which reminds the prehistoric terracottas from the Argive Heraeum and elsewhere. The curve of the nose, which gives the face a Semitic appearance, is not accidental, and underlines the Phoenician influence.