Western Asiatic Orange Glass and Other Bead Necklace String

Piriform in profile with flared tubular socket, flat rim, carination to the bulb and segmented upper face. 448 grams, 92 mm



From a London, UK, collection, 2000s. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Rectangular frieze fragment with low-relief carving of a profile bust with short straight hair confined by a brow-band, segmented curls forming the beard, furrowed brow, one arm extended; handwritten label to rear 'from the Koyunjik palace of Sennacherib at Nineveh and incised legend 'KOUYUNJIK' and 'A'; mounted on a custom-made stand. 530 grams total, 11.6 cm including stand



Allegedly found in the Koyunjik Palace of Sennacherib. Ex property of a gentleman, UK, acquired in the 1970s. Ex private collection, Oxfordshire, UK, 1988. Anonymous sale, with Christie's, London, 7 December 1994, no.235. Art market, New York. Ex private collection, Tokyo, Japan. Private European collection, 2009. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12880-241660. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

A matched pair of large earrings decorated with pomegranates on the outer edge, the crescentic body divided in transversal grooves representing the abdomen of a bee, with granulation on the inner and outer edge, a horizontal gold wire with circlets to the centre. 23.78 grams total, 38 mm each



From a private family collection formed since the early 19th century, thence by descent. Property of a New Zealand legal professional. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12326-223715. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Fruit were generally considered to be a symbol of sensuality, temptation and fertility; the giving and accepting of fruit may be regarded as a symbolic sexual act, or at least a prelude to marriage. It follows naturally that the pomegranate, with its innumerable fleshy seeds symbolising life and fecundity, was an attribute of Aphrodite.