Western Asiatic Mixed Stone Bead Necklace String Group

Tongue-shaped mould fragment with a recessed female figure on the upper face, 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: 'Upper Portion of Mould in Black Stone, 39 x 29 x 10 mm. This mould served to make metal figurines of a nude female figure. It is preserved from the thighs up, and is in very good state of preservation. The figure is worked in much detail: the hair is carefully arranged on the head, she has large earrings, five strings of beads around the neck; she holds her hands under her breasts, and the pubic hair is carefully marked. The fine quality, detailed work of this piece is most unusual. It dates to c. 1200 - 1700 B.C and comes from Iraq or an adjacent area.' 23.43 grams, 38 mm



UK private collection, acquired 1990-1993. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in 1991.

Comprising a thick discoid body with a tapering handle above, 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: 'Stamp Seal of White Marble, 28 x 25 mm. The base of the stamp is round, with a flat bottom and slightly outcurving sides. The handle rises from the base with decreasing diameter, and eight sides, to the knob, which is roughly oval and pierced from side to side, with a raised band over the top. This shape is a typical Hittite stamp seal shape. The design consists of a band of design around the edge surrounding hieroglyphs in the middle. The band consists of four sections of pattern: three kinds of guilloche and one section of dots, interspersed with two opposite animal heads, and two opposite unidentified items. The hieroglyphs are no doubt the owner's name. This seal comes from Anatolia, and dates to the 17/16th century B.C. It is in good state of preservation.' 26.7 grams, 35 mm



UK private collection, acquired 1990-1993. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in 1991.

Seals were the working signatures of the ancient Near East. Pressed or rolled into wet clay, they secured jars, bags, doors and tablets, and left a distinct impression that identified the owner, authorised a transaction, and showed whether a container had been opened. Stamp seals (pressed once to leave a single emblem) appear from the 7th–4th millennia BC and continue throughout later periods; cylinder seals (rolled to create a repeating frieze) developed in Mesopotamia in the late 4th millennium BC and are used into the 1st millennium BC. Beyond administration, seals were miniature artworks and amulets. Their images—gods and worshippers, royal hunts, banquets, heroes and mythic beasts—broadcast rank, piety and profession, and were believed to protect the owner. Materials range from soft stones to hard chalcedonies, haematite and lapis, worked with drills and abrasives to achieve crisp intaglio cutting. Many were worn on cords or rings and followed their owners through life, sometimes into the grave. Seals matter because they underpin the earliest systems of record-keeping and trade. Impressions on tablets and bullae are primary documents for ancient law, economy and religion; the seals themselves preserve that imagery in the round. For collectors, well-cut examples with sharp impressions, good polish and honest ancient wear are especially desirable, and pieces with early collection histories are keenly sought.

Irregular fragment with prepared and flattened outer face, nine columns of impressed cuneiform text; reverse repaired. 43 grams, 58 mm



London, UK, art market, 1980s. From the collection of G.M.R.H., London, UK.