Western Asiatic Red Terracotta Juglet

With ellipsoid body bearing incised Nastaliq(?) inscription, openwork stem and suspension loop to the top. 3.34 grams, 24 mm



Ex H. Barker collection, UK. Property of a North London, UK, gentleman. 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.

The Nastaʿlīq is one of the most important and widespread calligraphic styles used to write Farsi and was developed in Iran in the 8th and 9th centuries.

Sheet-silver female figure with tall lobed headdress, domed knees, breasts and navel, loincloth, parallel legs and tang beneath the feet; applied wire collar; the face with triangular nose and two pellet eyes; left arm detached in two pieces, with old repair. 32.1 grams total, 1.7-12.7 cm



UK private collection, formed in the 1980s. with Bonhams, London, 24 October 2012, no.271 (£8,000-£10,000). Accompanied by copies of the relevant Bonham's catalogue pages. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12532-231395. 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 bifacial sceptre head formed as a Master of Animals atop a collared tubular stem with flared foot; the finial composed of two addorsed birds standing on their backs looking up towards two birds' heads facing down and joined to slender crescentic arms representing slender beasts with ridged backs and roaring mouths, each in the grip of the Master standing crowned between them; the Master with tubular body, animal-like ears, prominent nose above a small mouth and wearing collars, neck rings and tiered headdress; waisted socket below; mounted on a display stand. 399 grams, 32.3 cm (526 grams total, 34.5 cm including stand)



Acquired between 1965-2020. Private collection, London. 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.

The small head belongs to the tubular idols with protomes of second type of ‘Master of Animals’, probably being a finial standard. This type, according to Chausidis, came to be with the gradual transformation of the ‘zoomorphic standards with a human head, whereby the front legs of the animals became integrated into the tubular pillar of the standards. It gradually began to be cast with the other elements, representing the neck and torso of the central anthropomorphic character that retained the two-faced feature of the previous type. The necks and heads of the animal pair separated from the rest of their bodies, which, in turn, gradually lost their original form and acquired new meanings.