Western Asiatic Mixed Bead Group

A large fired clay brick from the Wall of Babylon bearing six lines of stamped Babylonian cuneiform inscription to one face which reads: 'AG - ku -dur-ri-URU' / 'LUGAL ba-bi-lu' / 'za-ni-nu é-sag-ila' / 'u e-zi-da IBILA' / 'SAG.KAL. sa AG-IBILA-URU' / 'LUGAL ba-bi-lu ana-ku', which translates: 'Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who provides for Esagila and Ezida, the eldest son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, am I'; traces of bitumen on the blank side; accompanied by an old label which reads: 'Brick from the Wall of Babylon / Presented by W.Bro. Gentle-Cackett Secretary Bible Lands Mission / The impression records the fact that it was built by King Nebuchadnezzar [II]'. 13.6 kg, 33.5 x 33 cm



Ex Reverend Samuel W. Gentle-Cackett (1871-1943), in the 1930s. Gentle-Cackett was the secretary of the Bible Lands Missions’ Aid Society, 76 The Strand, London, WC2 (1904-1943), author of Palestine Portrayed, 1936, and Worshipful Brother of the Lodge of Sincerity 174. This brick formed part of an old collection of Masonic ephemera, and is believed to have originated from the Lodge of Sincerity 174. Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher. Accompanied by a copy of the book Palestine Portrayed, 1936, written by S.W. Gentle-Cackett. Accompanied by copies of the relevant pages from the book They Wrote on Clay, showing similar bricks in situ.

Genesis 11:3: "And they said to one another, 'Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly', and they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar." In the 1920s, Cackett read reports of Christian Armenians being orphaned as a result of attacks from Turks and in response he set up a refuge in Bedfont, where he was able to rehome 1500 children.

A mixed group of four stone wheat weights, comprising: one large, roughly biconical haematite example with one flat face; a pebble-shaped haematite weight with one flat face; a slender, haematite weight with flattened ends and one flat face; a smaller roughly biconical haematite example with one flattened face and flattened ends. 113 grams total, 17-48 mm



Acquired 1980s-1990s. H.N. collection, Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, UK.

A mixed group of five ceramic tablet fragments, four bearing cuneiform text and/or pictograms to at least one face. 59 grams total, 24-47 mm



Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. Thence by descent to family members. Examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This small collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples.