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LOT 1243
Western Asiatic Marble Cylinder Seal with Worship Scene
LATE 3RD-2ND MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 1/2 in. (34.6 grams, 36 mm).
Bearing a worship scene composed of a procession of robed human figures advancing left, towards a seated figure; pierced vertically for suspension.
ProvenancePrivate family collection formed in London, mid 1980s to early 1990s.
LiteratureCf. The Metropolitan Museum, accession number 1999.325.12, for a comparable scene dated early 2nd 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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LOT 1243
Western Asiatic Marble Cylinder Seal with Worship Scene
Sold for (Inc. bp): £520
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Western Asiatic Mixed Bead Necklace String
1st millennium B.C. and laterSold for (Inc. bp): £20
Graduated group of mainly oblate glass beads with and a recent Indian barrel-shaped glass bead with etched white lattice as a centrepiece. 34 grams, 38 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Amlash Bronze Cage Bead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Each composed of a biconical body featuring openwork geometric motifs and pellets. 68 grams total, 38-63 mm
Fine condition.
Acquired before 1983. Ex London gallery, 1990s. -
Mesopotamian Alabaster Lenticular Necklace Bead Group
Circa 3rd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Comprising a quantity of disc-shaped beads, each pierced for stringing. 53 grams total, 3-10 cm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
While slaves and the poorest people wore simple, functional clothes, the wealthiest classes of Mesopotamia could afford beautifully made jewellery. The royal tombs from Sumeria dating from around 2500 B.C. included an abundance of beaded necklaces, rings, bracelets for the wrist and ankles, stickpins, and other jewellery, made of gold and silver set with decorative gemstones such as deep blue lapis lazuli, red carnelian, white alabaster, and sparkling crystals. In the Lugale-Mythos the Alabaster is personified like a hero: ‘(And) the hero Alabaster, these heroes plundered the cities for him (= Asag)’. The hematite and the limestone/alabaster, two stones with a light and dark base colour, were used as aids in a divinatory ritual in which they were probably connected with the favourable and unfavourable answers to oracle inquiries.
