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LOT 0272
Western Asiatic Tubular Gold Bead Group
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
1/8 - 1/4 in. (4.38 grams total, 4-11 mm).
Group of twenty-six corrugated tubular sheet-gold beads. [26]
ProvenanceFrom a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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Marble Libation Table
2nd century B.C.-2nd century A.D.Estimate: £3,500 - 4,500 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,750
A Nabataean or Hellenistic libation table with drum-shaped body and four stub legs ending in bovine hooves; circumferential bands of egg-and-dart ornament, ropework ornament to the rim, dished upper face to accept votive offerings. 19.2 kg, 25 cm
Ex Paris collection. French gallery, Paris, 1990-2000s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11927-209636.
Rooms in Greek and Roman houses were largely devoid of furniture, and instead more emphasis was given to the display of works of art: mosaic floors, wall paintings, and freestanding bronze and marble sculpture. However, domestic altars have been found in various Greek and Roman houses (especially in Pompeii). This unusual small table with its elaborate support was likely to have been used to deposit fruit, sweets and other types of small gifts as offerings. Such tables were used in all the Greek and provincial Roman world, even by the Nabataean Arabs during the Roman period. -
Western Asiatic Lapis Lazuli Cylinder Seal with Presentation Scene
Circa 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
With frieze depicting central standing figure (the god Enki) in ankle-length robe holding a vase from which four jets of water flow downwards; two flanking attendants in flounced robes; panel of cuneiform text; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 9.66 grams, 20 mm
From an important London, UK, collection, 1970-1990. 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. -
Sumerian Terracotta 'Bulla Envelope' with Impressed Decoration
Uruk Period, circa 5500-3100 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,210
Complete and of spherical form, containing clay 'tokens'; the outer face impressed with enigmatic motifs. 190 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 two previous illustrated and typed catalogue pages.
The tokens sealed within the bulla are believed to have been used as part of the accounting process in Sumerian or early Uruk agriculture.
