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LOT 0238
Western Asiatic Pink Stone Cylinder Seal with Figural Scene
2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
3/4 in. (2.44 grams, 19.5 mm).
Frieze comprising a standing figure with wings spread above two ring-and-dot motifs, altar with bowl on a stem, facing nude figure with arms bent, second figure with floor-length robe; supplied with a museum-quality impression. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0238
Western Asiatic Pink Stone Cylinder Seal with Figural Scene
Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
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Neo-Babylonian Black Stone Duck Weight with Cuneiform Inscription
Circa 600-500 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,300
Carved in the round as a duck with its head laid back along its spine; pierced and inscribed on one flank. 9.30 grams, 27 mm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK. -
Western Asiatic Black Stone Cylinder Seal with Insects
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Frieze of rows of insects within linear borders; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 0.35 grams, 16.7 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
'Professor Erlenmeyer’s First Cylinder Seal' A Neo-Sumerian Haematite Seal of Abbamu, Scribe, Son of Bazige
Mesopotamia, Third Dynasty of Ur, circa 2100-2000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £8,450
Finely carved in haematite with a formal presentation scene: a goddess sitting enthroned upon a dais, clad in a flounced robe and a multiple-horned tiara, her arm extended in reception; before her a similarly attired interceding goddess approaching, leading a robed worshipper into the divine presence; lunar crescent in the field, with three-line inscription within a panel: 'Abbamu, scribe, son of Bazige'; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 18 grams, 27 mm
From the private collection of Professor Dr. Hans (1900-1967) and Mrs Erlenmeyer, Switzerland. The Erlenmeyer Foundation, Basel Switzerland, since 1981. with Sotheby's, Western Asiatic Cylinder Seals and Antiquities from the Erlenmeyer Collection (Part 1), London, 9 July 1992, no.109. Private collection, London, UK. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Sotheby's catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13283-253486.
Prof Hans Erlenmeyer was a noted Swiss collector from 1943 to circa 1960; he and his wife established the Erlenmeyer Foundation. This seal is of particular note as the first cylinder seal given to Professor and Mrs Erlenmeyer. Its imagery belongs to the religious and political language of the Third Dynasty of Ur, when order was restored after the collapse of the Akkadian dynasty. In the eyes of the ancient Mesopotamians, that earlier collapse could be understood as a sign of divine displeasure; under Ur III, renewed piety and correct devotion assumed central importance. The presentation scene seen here reflects that world precisely: the seal owner is led by a minor goddess, or Lamma, into the presence of his personal deity. Seals of this class are valued for their exacting workmanship and disciplined clarity of design. Though they lack the freer energy of the Akkadian age, they possess instead a ceremonial gravity and devotional precision that are wholly characteristic of Neo-Sumerian art.
