A finely carved cylinder seal in black stone engraved with a scene of worshippers or deities making offers, Neo-Assyrian, c. 9th.-8th. century BC.

Very detailed carving with shows the deities on either side of the tree of life and a vessel on a small stair or table, perhaps an alter. Crescent and star above.

Size: 22 mm. tall.

Provenance: Old German collection of fine cylinder seals, Karl Müller, 1950-1977.

CLAY FIGURE OF A STANDING ASTARTE “FERTILITY GODDESS”
Mesopotamia, Old Babylonian; 1800 BC

Dimensions:
Height: 12.5 cm
Width: 3.5 cm
Height on stand: 14.5 cm

Ishtar (Akkadian), Astarte (Phoenician), or Inanna (Sumerian) was the most important female deity in Mesopotamia through the second millennium BC. She was identified with the planet Venus, and the sunrise. She was the goddess of both sexual love and warfare...

Interesting and unusual small stamp with a beautiful symethric engraving, Post-Hittite states of Western Mesopotamia, c. early 1st. millenium BC.

Size: 11 x 10,5 mm.

Condition: Extremely fine, attractive patinated Hematite.

Added to the Oberländer collection in 2006...

A beautiful stone stamp seal, carved in black serpentine with a high handle, East Anatolia/West Mesopotamia, Neo-Hittite States, late 2nd. mill. BC - early 1st...

A scaraboid stamp seal in black stone, made in the Assyrian client states in Western Mesopotamia, fine mid-Assyrian style, c. late 2nd. millenium BC.

Reportedly found near Antioch.

Winged Deity, probably Ashur tending the Tree of Life, interesting symbols. Stylized scarab carved in an attractive black stone.

Size: 22 mm. long and 20 mm. wide!

Condition: Extremely fine and with a nice patina and still with some sandy deposits...

A fine intact stone wig / seperate hair, BACTRIA-MARGIANA, late 3RD- early 2ND mill B.C.

Separately made hair of brownish chlorite or steatite for the famous composite stone figures which are often missing their wigs / hairs actually!

A particularly well-carved hair with spiral-twisting indicated by grooves. Fine brownish stone.

Size: 20 x 20 mm.

Ex. Old Danish Private Collection

A finely large engraved gable type seal in black serpentine, Anatolia, 4th. millenium BC.

Attractive seal, carved with Goats horns a bove symbols, could be pre-Hittite or Hattite period.

Size: 32 mm...

Very attractive thick early geomethric style cylinder seal, carved in marble or another calsite stone, Mesopotamia, Jemdet Nasr period, c. 3300-2900 BC.

Nice substantial piece!

Size: 21 mm tall and 15 mm...

A fine style cylinder seal carved in an attractive beige-yellowish stone, probably jasper, Mesopotamia under the Achaemenid Empire, c. 7th.-5th. century BC.

Sharp low relief depiction of the Great King wrestling with winged lions with bearded human heads!

Size: c. 26 mm. tall.

Ex. Danish Private Collection, this seal aquired in the early 1990s.

Interesting gable seal, probably North-Mesopotamian, 4th. millenium BC.

The seal engraved with a finely carved filled cross, elongated in form...

A very rare and exceptionally large Islamic Vase, ca. 12th.-14th. century.

The vase very impressive in size and beautiful classic tulip form. Green-glazed red ceramic.

Size: 26,5 cm. tall and ca. 26 cm. wide. Very heavy construction.

Condition: Choice and intact, with some loss to glaze in parts. Fine iridescent patina.

Provenance: Dr. Günther Marschall collection (1913-1997).

Hand-modeled stand with antithetically arranged bull heads on top. Pinched muzzles and dewlaps, the eyes pierced. Horns chipped.
Votive offering or toy.
Terracotta
Near Eastern, Syro-Hittite, 2nd Millennium BC
H. 4.8 cm (1.9 in)
W. 4 cm (1.6 in)
Horns chipped, base slightly worn.
Published with:
Jean-David Cahn. Katalog 11. Tiere und Mischwesen. Basel, December 1999. Lot no. 06.
Jean-David Cahn. Katalog 19. Tiere und Mischwesen VII...

A rectangular stone stamp seal carved in a green stone. The seal is high unusual, since it depicts a whole bunch of people having great fun...

A choice larger stone stamp seal of the Tabloid type, North-West Mesopotamia, 4th. mill. BC.

The seal engraved with three strange symbols in deep relief.

Size: 28 mm. long and 22 mm. wide.

Condition: Very fine, intact with fine even wear and patina.

Added to the Oberländer collection in 1995. Comes with original ID card from the Oberländer collection and imprint!

Provenance: Gustav Oberländer (1926-2012), Oberländer aquired his massive ...

A very rare type with multible knobs on a swollen head and with a tubular shaft, Caspian steppes / Indo-Iranian, later bronzeage, ca. early 1st. millenium BC.

Interestingly there's oulined a reclining animal on the socket below near the rim, perhaps a lion. Size: ca. 8,1 cm.

Condition: Superb, nice even dark-green patina with some uncleaned dirt.

Ex. Danish Collection of ancient weapons, bought at the Danish Antiquities market in the 1980-90s.

Mesopotamian incantation bowl with the meaningless repetition of the same letter. The text is grouped in adjacent areas and surrounds two demonic figures with differentiated sexual attributes.
The woman appears with long hair or a veil, the man is depicted with a short brush cut.
Arms and legs are hatched, the fingers indicated. The arms are bound together.
Between the figures a scorpion with segmented body and multiple legs. The grasping pincers are rendered as simple lines...

Interesting seal that needs more research. Carved with a nice framed carving depicting a capride, horned animal eating a plant! Syro-Anatolian area of Western Mesopotamia. Found place given as Amúg Ebene near Antiocheia.

Size: 19 x 18 mm.

Condition: Near Very fine, the seal itself Exremely fine and very sharp but the seal lost it's handle due to wear.

Comes with imprint and original collection Id card.

Provenance: Gustav Oberländer (1926-2012), Obe...

An attractive and interesting seal carved with three horned animals and a bird behind, Western Mesopotamia, Ubaid period. c. 4th. mill. BC.

Boldly carved substantial seal in serpentine in the gable form.

Size: 27 mm. x 27 mm.

Condition: VF, fine wear from use to the horisontical perforation, but with the central seal image fully preserved.

Added to the Oberländer collection in 2005. Comes with original ID card from the Oberländer collection and imp...

A very interesting and rare motif on a massive cylinder seal in white stone (marble?), Mesoopotamia, c. 3000-2700 BC.

The seal artfully engraved with an animal fight between an elephant, Lion and gazelle. Very thick seal that gives an impressive imprint.

Size: 28 mm. tall and c. 17 mm. wide.

Condition: Near Very fine, intact, but with some corr. to c. 1/3 of the engraving. Comes with a hard clay impression that could be improved some and the original ID card fr...

Interesting lot of three amulets, two in stone and one in bronze dating from ca. 2000 BC-1000 AD.

The lot consists of a larger Islamic bronze pendant or amulet, 55 mm. long and another serpentine stone amulet with engraved decoration or writing (Hittite?), ca. 1st. millenium BC and a third amulet in stone, grooved and likely a fertility amulet Anatolia or Mesopotamia, 2nd.-1st. mill BC.

Nice lot that calls for more research!

Ex. German Private Collection

A lovely large amulet carved as a mythical beast in white calcite, drilled for inlay to the eyes and with a drill through the body for mounting it on a string. Mesopotamia, Uruk-Jemdet Nasr, 3300-2900 BC.

Finely shaped archaic beast. With old collection mark at the back.

Size: 43 mm. long.

Condition: Nice Very fine, intact with slightly rough surfaces.

Provenance: The Karl Müller collection, Germany 1950-1977. Comes with COA.

A huge and very impressive stamp seal of Northern Anatolia, Ubaid period, early 4th. mill. BC.

The base engraved with two horned animals with an arrow symbol behind the largest animal and a severed head between them, it's carved with a low rounded gable, drilled through.

Size: 54 mm. long and 42 mm. tall, one of the largest we've handled of the type and one of the largest in the Oberländer collection.

Condition: Near Very fine, smaller losses to corners and even...

Hand-modeled female figure with bird-like facial features, including applied eyes and a pointed beak-like nose. At the nape a trapezoidal hair design fixed with a clay strip.
Her left arm placed over the chest, the other to her thigh. Wide angular shoulders. The neck enhanced with a collar of tiny beads.
The body in the shape of a simple column with slightly evert foot.
Terracotta
H. 10.4 cm (4.1 in)
Near Eastern, Syro-Hittite, 2nd Millennium BC
Intact ...

A very attractive pottery bowl, in a rather original state for type with caligraphy, Islamic Samenid Dynasty, ca. 9th.-10th. century.

A rare bowl decorated with wonderful caligraphy in lighter colour on dark green-brown glaze!

Size: 23 cm. wide and 8 cm. tall.

Condition: Extremely fine for the type. Some very professional restoration to the bottom area. Original crackled glaze and caligraphy. See the closeups for the condition of the glaze.

Provenance:...

Interesting seal with a long handle and rectangular base, Western Mesopotamian, Ubaid of the 5th. mill. BC.

Finely made grit pattern at the base and quite scarce as a type.

Size: 22 mm. long and 14 mm. tall.

Condition: Good Very fine, some cleanable deposits.

This seal comes with hard impression and original ID-card from below collection, see pictures.

Provenance: Gustav Oberländer (1926-2012), Oberländer aquired his massive and important ...

Adorable bronze figurine from the medieval period, Islamic, Seljuq Empire, 10th.-11th. century AD.

The Lion standing on erect with stylized double-legs and incised details of the mane and head.

A classic antiquity from this period and does not come better or more charming.

Size: 45 mm. long and 35 mm. tall.

Condition: Superb for type, with very nice metal and great patina.

Ex Bavarian private collection, Germany between 1974-2015.

A fine hardstone cyliner seal, Middle Assyrian Empire, 1363-912 BC.

The seal is carved in a matte-black stone and depicts a hunting scene with the great bending to shoot an arrow against a 4-legged animal, crescent above.

Size: 26-27 mm. tall and 11 mm. thick.

Condition: VF, intact with some wear and fine patination and micro deposits.

Ex. German Private Collection

A fascinating and exceedingly rare bronze stamp seal of the Hephthalites or the Whine Huns as they're also known. Hunic Empire of the Hindu Kush, 4th.-6th. century AD.

The seal is of an advanced form with a tall handle ending in an oval loop. The plate is oval and engraved with a fine depiction of a parading horse.

Size: 17 x 16 mm.



Condition: Good Very fine, intact and attractive.

Comes with imprint and COA.

Provenance: Gustav Ob...

Carved in a grey stone and finely polished in the Neo-Assyrian period, c. 9th.-7th. cent. BC.

The seal is carved with a depiction of a deity tending a capricorn, below the symbols of the Sun and Moon, interesting eye symbol as well as a large star.

Height: 2cm, ø 1cm.

Condition: Near Extremely fine.

Ex. Private Collection of Karl Müller, 1950-1977. Comes with hard imprint and COA.

Interesting massive seal with a provenance going back to the French Dealer j. Vinchon 1973. Greenstone seal with stylized engravings in the base and worn through handle from extensive use. Very early dating to the 5th. mill. BC or even earlier!

Size: 31 mm. x 21 mm, and 22 mm. tall.

Ex. J. Vinchone Paris, 1973 and ex. Oberländer 1996 and comes with hard impression and original ID-card from below collection.

Provenance: Gustav Oberländer (1926-2012), Oberländer...

A fantastic and exceptional thick and heavy ancient silver bracelet, Uratian-Achaemenid period, dating 800-500 BC.

A heavy silver armring evolving into a huge spiral, very complicated and beautiful silverwork for the period.

Size: ca. 8 cm. tall and 3 cm. thick at the max. Weight: 157 grams.

Condition: Superb, completely intact with attachment rings intact too, fine uncleaned rough grey patina, easy to remove with manuel cleaning, if so desired.

Prove...

Interesting stone stamp seal found in Harran, easternmost Turkey, prior to 1991. Harran was founded as a real city at some point between the 25th and 20th centuries BC, possibly as a merchant colony by Sumerian traders from Ur. Over the course of its early history, Harran rapidly grew into a major Mesopotamian cultural, commercial and religious center.

This seal is engraved with distinctive spoked wheel in the base, so we can date as 3rd.-2nd. millenium BC.
The seal finely polis...

A lovely Epigraphic pottery bowl with fine style Cufic caligraphy, Islamic Samenid Dynasty, ca. 9th.-10th. century.

A massive conical bowl both wide and tall and decorated with wonderful caligraphy in black on white glaze.

Size: Near 32 cm. wide and 12 cm. tall.

Condition: Extremely fine for this rare type and large size. Restored from few larger fragments, some repainted in the joint-areas, perhaps some strengthening, but very good original crackled glaze. See t...

A nice early cylinder seal in white marple, carved with the 'eye' or circle/rhomboid form - a characteristic and significant design for the Period.

The Jemdet Nassr Period in seal manifacturing,3300-2900 BC, were spreading from Southern Mesopotamia, where a great number of administrative cuneiform tablets and seals came from. Such seals was used to impress pictures or descriptions into soft, prepared clay. These seals guaranteed the authenticity of marked ownership: as such, they were...

A large round stamp seal with a rare depiction engraved in the base, Mesopotamian 4th.-3rd. mill. BC.

The seal is engraved with a Capride springing in the forrest as if in flight, struck and pierced through by two spears. The seal is carved in stone with a small handle.

Size: 28 mm. in diameter.

Condition: Nice VF, some tiny chips and deposits, but quite attractive.

This seal was aquired 2008 and comes with hard impression and original ID-card from bel...

A fine and impressive large stamp seal with wide loop handle on the back and deeply carved with a cruciform pattern in drill style. Mesopotamia, Uruk period, 3300-2900 BC

Size: 33 mm. in diameter.

Condition: Very fine, sharp seal with minor ancient loss to the rim. With ancient patina and deposits.

Provenance: Gustav Oberländer (1926-2012), Oberländer aquired his massive and important collection of seals between 1985 - 2000s, bought at reputable dealers and fro...