Western Asiatic Mottled Pink Stone Jar

Domed underside with cuneiform text to the upper face; chipped. 114 grams, 70 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.

The majority displaying standing figures in repoussé to both faces of a lozenge-shaped body; five formed as naked male figures with hands clasped in front of the waist; a single bead formed as a full-bodied figure wearing a headdress, one hand held over the pubic region, which is pierced; sheet-gold over bituminous cores; from a ritual headdress; most complete. 78.32 grams total, 34-43 mm



Acquired 1970s onwards. Private collection of Michael O'Hara, Cambridgeshire, UK. Ex private collection of Benjamin Hyde-Smith, Hertfordshire, UK.

Although the Buddha himself never visited Gandhara, with the passage of time the area became a veritable holy land for his followers. Mahayanism – a liberal and progressive school of Buddhism – flourished in Gandhara and laid emphasis among other things, on the transformation of the Buddha into a great mythological, almost eternal, god, and on the deification of future Buddhas as holding providences. In the visual arts, Buddha was permitted for the first time to be represented in human form.

With stylised repoussé head and face detailing, the mane represented by a scalloped border; sheet-silver cladding to the head; pierced for attachment. 82 grams, 76 mm



London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11871-206896.