Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 1055
Western Asiatic Stone Beads with Engraved Animals
20TH CENTURY OR EARLIER
3/4 in. (22.1 grams total, 20-22 mm).
Two roughly spherical beads carved from a milky stone, both possibly engraved later, a frieze of animal and mythical figures, together with a single, apparently human, figure. [2, No Reserve]
Provenance
Collected since the 1970s.
Ex Everitt collection, acquired by descent 2017.
VETTING:
TimeLine 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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
Sumerian Lipit-Ishtar King of Isin Cuneiform Foundation Cone
1936-1926 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
From the House of Justice at Isin; inscribed with columns of cuneiform text: I, (the divine) Lipit-Eštar, humble shepherd of (the city of) Nippur, faithful farmer of (the city of) Ur, tireless worker for (the city of) Eridu, perfect Lord for (the city of) Uruk, King of (the city of) Isin, King of Sumer and Akkad, who pleases (the goddess) Innana, on the day I established justice in Sumer and Akkad, I built the temple of justice at the Reservoir, the great space of the gods; and bearing inked collection number: 'BEC.2 00015024' to base. 158 grams, 11.3 cm
Previously from the estate of a West Sussex, UK, collector. From a collection acquired from various auction houses in the UK. From the estate of Mr R.W., a private Wiltshire, UK, collector; thence by descent. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12314-215541.
Votive cones are one type of royal foundation deposit, objects that were buried in the walls and beneath the floors of important buildings during construction to sanctify the site and to create a historical memory of the ruler and his achievements. Lipit-Ishtar was the fifth king of the Dynasty of Isin, which was founded after the collapse of the Third Dynasty of Ur. He is famous as having published a series of laws in the Sumerian language anticipating the code of Hammurabi by more than a century. -
Abbasid Miniature Glass Perfume Vessel
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Bulbous body with incuse crescents, flared neck; iridescent surface. 7.6 grams, 29 mm
From a 1980s UK collection. Property of an London antiquarian. -
Sumerian Terracotta 'Bulla Envelope' with Impressed Decoration
Uruk Period, circa 5500-3100 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £520
Complete and of spherical form, containing clay 'tokens'; the outer face impressed with enigmatic motifs. 158 grams, 64 mm
Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1988. 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. Accompanied by a copy of previous typed and illustrated cataloguing sheets.
The tokens sealed within the bulla are believed to have been used as part of the accounting process in Sumerian or early Uruk agriculture.
