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LOT 1222
Western Asiatic Limestone Mortar
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
5 1/4 in. (4.85 kg, 13 cm).
With short columnar base and bulbous upper body, broad rim with pouring lip. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom 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.
Cf. Squitieri. A., Eitam, D. (ed.), Stone tools in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Ground stone tools, rock-cut installations and stone vessels from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, Oxford, 2019, pp. 237-238, and 275, for examples of similar type.
FootnotesThe later (2nd -3rd century A.D.) Rabbinic tradition emphasised the difference between the permanent mortar (makhtesh kevua) and the movable one (makhtesh metaltelet), with the first being automatically sold with the house, but the second sold only if expressly stated by the vendor. This form of movable mortar was common in the Levant throughout the second half of the 1st millennium B.C.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Nishapur Calligraphic Pottery Bowl
Persia, 9th-10th century A.D.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £267
Of carinated profile with reserved orange shapes on a field of white pellets on black, roundels with legends; intact. 334 grams, 17.5 cm wide
with a London, UK gallery 1971-early 2000s. -
Phoenician Core-Formed Glass Juglet Bead
6th-4th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Formed of maroon glass with a yellow trail decoration to the body, applied handle to the rear. 4.24 grams, 27 mm
From the property of late Mr SM, London, UK, 1969-1999, thence by descent. -
Sumerian Lipit-Ishtar King of Isin Cuneiform Foundation Cone
1936-1926 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
From the House of Justice at Isin; inscribed with columns of cuneiform text: I, (the divine) Lipit-Eštar, humble shepherd of (the city of) Nippur, faithful farmer of (the city of) Ur, tireless worker for (the city of) Eridu, perfect Lord for (the city of) Uruk, King of (the city of) Isin, King of Sumer and Akkad, who pleases (the goddess) Innana, on the day I established justice in Sumer and Akkad, I built the temple of justice at the Reservoir, the great space of the gods; and bearing inked collection number: 'BEC.2 00015024' to base. 158 grams, 11.3 cm
Previously from the estate of a West Sussex, UK, collector. 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. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12314-215541.
Votive cones are one type of royal foundation deposit, objects that were buried in the walls and beneath the floors of important buildings during construction to sanctify the site and to create a historical memory of the ruler and his achievements. Lipit-Ishtar was the fifth king of the Dynasty of Isin, which was founded after the collapse of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He is famous as having published a series of laws in the Sumerian language anticipating the code of Hammurabi by more than a century.
