Western Asiatic Painted Spouted Vessel

A large portion of a pillow-shaped clay tablet, bearing cuneiform text to one face and side edge, relating to food distribution in Ubar-iltum, Maši depending on the service of Adalšenni etc. Kingdom of Larsa (?). 55 grams, 45 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.

A pillow-shaped administrative clay tablet bearing cuneiform text to both principal faces, relating to a barley debt; Aramaic graffiti to one edge. 114 grams, 67 mm wide



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. The collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples.

The tablet records a promissory note of a typical kind to pay for barley. It concludes with the names of witnesses, town and date. The Aramaic script transcribes the cuneiform name of the debtor into Aramaic script, making it easier for scribes to identify who each tablet refers to. It dates to the Achaemenid period, to the reign of Artaxerxes I (465-424 B.C.). Such late administrative tablets are typically carelessly written, as is apparent on our example as some script has been rendered slanting sharply downwards.

A copper-alloy penannular armband with shallow D-section hoop and terminals formed as stylised ram-heads each with exaggerated coiled horns, circular eyes set with cream-coloured beads and shallow semi-circular muzzles; transverse bands of geometric motifs along the neck. 620 grams, 10.4 cm wide



with a 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 no.11643-199677.

The bracelet is a product of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex ('BMAC', also developed from the 'Oxus Civilization') which was the dominant culture in the 3rd and 2nd millennium (often dated to c. 2250–1700 B.C.) in that area, corresponding roughly to modern Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The members of the group practised animal husbandry and a limited form of agriculture, with wheeled carts from the 4th millennium B.C . Its craftsmen were proficient at working metals and alloys including bronze, copper, silver, and gold. Fortified sites with multiple walls are another notable development.