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LOT 1031
Western Asiatic Silver Pazuzu Head Amulet
CIRCA 8TH-6TH CENTURY B.C.
3/4 in. (4.33 grams, 20 mm).
A silver Pazuzu head amulet with grotesque facial features and integral suspension loop.
ProvenanceAcquired before the early 1970s.
Ex London, UK, gallery.
Property of a London gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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Western Asiatic Style Giant Agate Bead
20th century A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £46
A very large banded agate bead in the style of ancient Western Asiatic examples with symmetrical banding; drilled for suspension. 149 grams, 90 mm
Acquired 1969-1999. London collection of the late Mr S.M., thence by descent. -
Luristan Standing Ibex
1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £120
A copper-alloy ibex statuette modelled standing on a tiered plinth, suspension loop to base of neck; mounted on a custom-made display base. 45 grams total, 58 mm high including stand
Acquired before the early 1970s. Ex London, UK, gallery. Property of a London gentleman. -
Mesopotamian Pictographic Administrative Tablet
Uruk III, circa 3000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,940
A bifacial, lentoid-section rectangular clay tablet with rounded corners and short sides, medial horizontal line to each face, with hand-drawn pictographs above and below, a count of sheep and caprids. 42 grams, 66 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. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11637-198551.
Early writing was used primarily as a means of recording economic data; this tablet likely records deliveries and distributions of grain. At the end of the 4th millennium B.C., written language developed in Mesopotamia as pictographs, later evolving into abstract forms called cuneiform. Pictographs were drawn in the clay with a pointed implement. Circular impressions alongside the pictographs represented numerical symbols. Cuneiform (meaning wedge-shaped) script was written by pressing a reed pen or stylus with a wedge-shaped tip into a clay tablet.
