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LOT 1337
Western Asiatic Stone Macehead
4TH MILLENNIUM B.C.
3 1/8 in. (360 grams, 81 mm).
Oval in plan with a tapering drilled central socket.
ProvenanceEx private collection, Contessa L.G., since the 1980s.
Private collection, acquired in 1999.
Cf. Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, pl.XXX, no.15, for similar example from Mesopotamia.
FootnotesThe mace was a close-combat weapon consisting of a short handle and a massive striking element—the head, a striking weapon capable of inflicting severe contusions and internal fractures. Although a very archaic and rather primitive weapon, the mace was nevertheless widely used in the ancient East. Its sacred and representative role was particularly significant. Due to its shape, it symbolised the owner's masculinity and was therefore one of the primary insignia of power, symbolising the inseparability of its civil, military, and sacred-magical essences—ensuring the functioning and reproduction of the collective and the conditions for its existence. This is why we so often encounter ‘ceremonial’ maces, especially those made of stone—in this case, undoubtedly a ritual material. However, it must be said that stone, as a material for a mace head, was in no way inferior to metal in terms of combat qualities, while being much more labour-intensive to manufacture, which was precisely what appealed to the ritual, symbolic role of this weapon.
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LOT 1337
Western Asiatic Stone Macehead
Estimate £400 - 600€460 - 700 (for guidance only)$540 - 810 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£200 (EUR 232; USD 270) ‡+BP*
-
Achaemenid Turquoise Glass and Other Bead Necklace String
Mid 1st millennium B.C. and laterEstimate: £50 - 70 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Composed mainly of oblate and biconical beads with larger beads as the central feature, restrung. 11.4 grams, 32 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex London, UK, collection. -
Large Amlash Bronze Spouted Libation Vessel
Circa 1200-1000 B.C.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,667
One of the largest known examples, comprising a thin-walled body and flaring foot, a separately made long spout rivetted to the body; the U-shaped spout resembling the beak of a bird with stylised linear feather detailing to the gracefully curving neck, eleven domed rivets to the edges; the base of the foot with concentric circle decoration. 735 grams, 46 cm
Believed to have been acquired in the 1960s-1970s. From the collection of Mr Jay Gluck (1927–2000) and Mrs Sumi Hiramoto Gluck. Malter Galleries Inc., Auction 80, The Gluck Collection of Ancient Art, 7 April 2002, no.54. Alexander Ancient Art, Netherlands. Private collection, London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13314-257665.
Jay Gluck (1927–2000) was an American author, art historian, and orientalist who spent much of his life in Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region. A passionate collector and scholar of Asian art and culture, he is perhaps best known for his landmark publication Japan Inside Out (1964), and later A Survey of Persian Handicrafts (1977), co-authored with his wife Sumi Hiramoto Gluck, a Japanese-born artist and cultural collaborator who shared his deep engagement with Eastern art traditions. Together, the Glucks assembled a distinguished collection reflecting their combined expertise and decades of firsthand engagement with the arts of Asia and the ancient world. Items from their collection are held with great regard for the couple's scholarly rigour and the depth of provenance they represent. -
Western Asiatic Terracotta Bowl with Painted Birds
4th-3rd millennium B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £333
With a rounded underside and flared rim; painted asterisk to centre, hatched chevrons to mouth with profile birds in the voids; early Iranian workmanship. 298 grams, 16 cm wide
Ex London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s. London, UK, collection.
