Western Asiatic Polished Bronze Bowl

A fragmentary section of a large pillow-shaped tablet with impressed cuneiform text on two sides. 150 grams, 87 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.

Plano-convex in section with lightly incised geometric motif to underside. 18.52 grams, 27.58 mm



From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.

Bulbous body with four stub legs, tall neck and internal strainer, tall scooped edge to the rim, loop handle to the rear; body and neck painted with geometric motifs, red paint on the base and legs. 1.16 kg, 32.3 cm



UK collection, 1990s. Acquired on the UK art market, before 2000. Private collection, Mr M.V., a London-based businessman.

Artefacts from Amlash date from the late second millennium B.C. through to the Partho-Sasanian period, with most dated to the 9th and 8th centuries B.C. Zoomorphic drinking or ritual vessels are abundant in Amlash pottery and usually feature depictions of animals common to that region. Such vessels have been recovered across Mesopotamia and Anatolia, and they were known as Bibru. They were produced as ceremonial drinking vessels, dedicated to specific deities, but they might also have served as drinking vessels for the social elite and royal family members.