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LOT 0222
Western Asiatic Steatite Seal with Animals
3300-2900 B.C.
2 3/8 in. (38.9 grams, 61 mm).
Rectangular in plan and triangular in section with a median hole, flat face with incuse frieze of ibexes.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Cf. a similar procession of Ibexes on a seal from Kish, in Wilson, J.A., Allen, T.G., Ancient Oriental Cylinder and Other Seals, with a description of the collection of Mrs William H. Moore, Chicago, 1940, fig.15.
FootnotesSome stamp seals from the period of transition between Jemdat Nasr and the Early Dynastic Period of Ur represent animals, and some scholars suggest that they were probably used as pendants or amulets. The animals are somewhat simplified and often reduced to mere lines: a file of animals usually forms the basis of such a pattern.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0222
Western Asiatic Steatite Seal with Animals
Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)
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Western Asiatic Stone Cylinder Seal Group
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Bids: 3 | Current Bid: £15
Comprising: a brown serpentine seal with a geometric pattern; a cream serpentine seal with a geometric pattern; a black steatite seal with a figure in a fringed dress with the hood over the head, a small table and two corn-ears as a divider; a blue glass seal with a standing figure and a rearing quadruped; supplied with museum-quality impressions. 27.1 grams total, 22-24 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. Accompanied by previous typed catalogue slips with collection nos.4, 5, 28, and one handwritten. -
Large West Central Asian Bronze Seal Matrix with Cross of Trees
Circa 2300-2000 B.C.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £40
Openwork seal matrix with a loop on the reverse, accompanied by an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Stamp Seal of Bronze, 40 x 40 x 14 mm. This is round, with flat face and flat back, on which is mounted a handle of inverted U-shape. The design consists of a central oblong joined to the outer rim with struts. From the centre of each side of the oblong is a short strut joining two crescent shaped lines creating the impression of a tree, and between each such combination is a single straight strut from oblong to edge. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-2000 B.C. The metal is in very good condition, and the whole seal is also in fine state of preservation.' 15.2 grams, 40 mm
Acquired in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Ex property of a West London businessman. Academically researched and catalogued by the late Professor Lambert in the early 1990s. Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly report, numbered N-11, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert. -
Neo-Assyrian Buff Steatite Cylinder Seal with Trees
Circa 900-700 B.C.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
Light brown cylinder seal with stylised trees and pellets; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 2.72 grams, 19 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. Accompanied by a previous typed catalogue slip with collection no.76.
