Western Asiatic Stone Cup

With eight lines of qatabanic Sabaean text regarding an unknown temple of the kingdom of Qatabān, dedicated to the gods Amm dhu-Raymatum and Warafum: '1 Dlwn -b-Gbln ʿbd (s¹q)ny[ ʿm] 2 ḏ-Rymtm w-Wrfm (s¹)qnyt-ḏ= 3 hbm ḥg tkrb-s¹mn gwm/ 4 bʿw mhrt Nbṭ m w-(ytʿs¹) 5 w-ʾbl-s¹ ḥg t(k)rb-s¹mn l-m= 6 tʿn-s¹ b-s¹wt brṯ n rṯd D..= 7 wn ʿm w-Wrfm ʾḏn-s¹ w-(mqm)-s¹ 8 w-qny-s¹ b-ḥg ʿm w-ʾnby' 'Dalwān ... offered [to ʿAmm] (2) dhu-Raymatum and Warafum the offering of (3) bronze according to the promise he made to them ... (4) ... mares of Nabaṭ um ... (5) his camel in accordance with the promise he had made to them to be (6) protected in this expedition. Dalwān has confided (7) to ʿAmm and Warafum his faculties, his abilities (8) and his possessions, with the approval of Amm and Anbī'; mounted on a custom-made stand. 1.01 kg total, 23.7 cm high including stand



Ex London W1 collector; acquired between 1970 and the late 1990s.

Eagle-shaped seal matrix with a large loop on the back, 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, 25 x 21.5 x 1mm. This bears the shape of the design, with flat compartmented face and flat back of which is mounted a loop handle of metal rod. The design shows a heraldic eagle with two heads: heads at the top sideways, wings hanging beneath, and tail feathers spread at the bottom. This comes from west central Asia and dates to c. 2300-2000 B.C. It is a rare type (the double-headed eagle) and in very good condition save for a nick at the bottom.' 9.51 grams, 25 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 V-850, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert.

Fragment from a plaque or large bowl with high-relief head and foreparts of a lion with broad piriform face and sunken eyes; rounded rim above. 246 grams, 96 mm



Ex Mr J.K. Maryland, USA. Private collection. Acquired in 1999.

From a technical point of view, the sculpture, in low relief, belonged to a ritual element with profile figures highlighted by an extremely delicate internal modelling, with space between the various decorative bands that admirably preserves the figure of the lion, giving it full value, according to an artistic principle also found in the seals of the Jemdet Nasr period (2800-2600 BC).