Western Asiatic Gold Bead Group

A large flat-section figure with curled arms, spread legs, lobed head; mounted on a custom-made stand. 3.24 kg total, 36.3 cm wide



Private English collection, 1950s, and kept in England. Ex Atigh Gallery, pre-1986. with Aaron Gallery, acquired from the above. Accompanied by a copy of the 1986 invoice from Atigh Gallery. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12492-230324. 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.

A cluster of copper artefacts dating to 1500-1000 B.C. was found in the Indo-Gangetic plains (region of Uttar Pradesh), including a number of anthropomorphic figures with downwards curving arms, dome-shaped heads, and spread legs. They were cast in moulds and then hammered with often discernible chisel marks. They can be divided in several distinct categories based on their characteristics, and it has been suggested that these idols functioned as protective guardian spirits.

Bulbous body and carinated shoulder extending to a cylindrical mouth. 80 grams, 77 mm



Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. 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.

Cylinder with attached cord and bead handle; 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: ' Cylinder-Stamp Seal of Bronze, 330x08.5 mm. The seal is surmounted by a suspension loop, beneath which is a double-faced demon head with large, animal-like ears and beards. The neck is decorated with horizontal lines at the fronts and vertical lines at the sides. This rests immediately on the seal proper. The design of the cylinder seal is put between double lines above and beneath. It shows a standing worshipper with raised hands before an incense burner, a group of seven dots, a lunar cresent [sic], a lozenge-shape and a slender tree. The base, the stamp seal, shows a winged solar disc. Such seals, which are quite rare, come from the mountainous area to the north of Mesopotamia, and date from c. 900-700 B.C. In this case the worshipper and the winged disc are borrowed from Assyrian art, but the combination of items before the worshipper is not Assyrian. The demon-head cannot be identified with certainty, though it may be a variety of the Mesopotamian Pazuzu.'; accompanied by museum-quality impressions. 7.82 grams total, 8.1-32.64 mm



UK private collection, acquired 1980-1983. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in September 1990. 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.