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Details
LOT 1215
Western Asiatic Stone Decorated Spindle Whorl Group
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
3/4 - 7/8 in. (9.39 grams total, 18-23 mm).
Comprising two conical spindle whorls, the larger with stylised human figures and quadrupeds, the smaller with ring-and-dot decoration. [2, No Reserve]
Provenance
Acquired in the 1980s-2000s.
From an important London, UK, collection.
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Humbaba (or Huwawa) was a demon of Mesopotamian legend, most famously described in the Epic of Gilgamesh. He was appointed by the god Enlil as the terrifying guardian of the Cedar Forest, a place of the gods. His grotesque features, with glaring eyes and monstrous expressions, were said to strike fear into anyone who saw him. Babylonian representations of Humbaba often emphasise this fierce appearance, with distorted facial traits designed to ward off evil. Such images could serve an apotropaic purpose, protecting people and places from harm, while also evoking one of the most memorable figures of Babylonian mythology.
