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LOT 1454
Western Asiatic Stone Cylinder Seal Group
3RD-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
3/4 - 1 1/8 in. (45.28 grams total, 18-29 mm).
Comprising: a limestone seal showing lions and bulls in combat; a hematite seal with a seated deity with an axe, and a standing adorant; a hematite seal with two adorants before a scorpion, another scorpion and another small animal, sun and moon crescent; a black steatite seal with two standing figures and a jumping beast; a chalcedony seal with a man to the right, evil eye, bird and a mountain or a skirt; supplied with museum-quality impressions. [5, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s.
Accompanied by previous typed catalogue slips with collection nos.27, 31, 34, 43, 79.
Cf. a cylinder in similar style in Niederreiter, Z., Catalogue of the cylinder seals in the Royal Museums of Art and History, I, Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Periods (circa 1000-500 B.C.), Budapest, 2020, no.60 (offering scene).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1454
Western Asiatic Stone Cylinder Seal Group
Estimate £120 - 170€140 - 200 (for guidance only)$160 - 230 (for guidance only)
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Neo-Assyrian Buff Steatite Cylinder Seal with Trees
Circa 900-700 B.C.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening 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. -
Sabean Yemeni Dedicatory Plaque from the Kingdom of Qataban
1st century A.D.Estimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £600
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. -
Large Neo-Assyrian Cuneiform Frieze Section with Annals for King Ashurnasirpal II
883-859 B.C.Estimate: £7,000 - 9,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £3,500
A stone frieze with four lines of large cuneiform text accompanied by documentation to support that this a section from the annals of King Ashurnasirpal II: 'Ashurnasirpal (II), great king, mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Tukulti-Ninurta (II), great king, mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, son of Adad-nirari (II), great king, mighty king, king of the universe, king of Assyria, valiant man, who acts with the support of the weapons of Assur, his lord, who has no equal among the princes of the four regions, king who has subdued (the territories extending) from the opposite bank of the Tigris to Mount Lebanon and the Great Sea, the entire land of Laqû, the land of Suhu as far as the city of Rapiqu. He conquered the sources of the Subnat river as far as the land of Nirbu…'; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 2.85 kg total, 36.5 cm wide including stand
Belgian private collection, acquired before 1960, and thence by descent to the collector's widow. with Mrs Drees (?), Brussels, acquired from the widow of the above, 2004. with Pierre Bergé & Associés, Paris, 28 October 2006, lot 219. with Gorny & Mosch, Munich, 12 December 2023, lot 416. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13369-258955.
Most of the reliefs and inscriptions of this king are in the British Museum and Louvre. Further holdings are in the New York Historical Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University. They celebrated the glory of the Assyrians at the apogee of their Empire.