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 rare depiction of a woman and three men standing side by side on this slightly oval stamp which is probably a stylized scarab form with curved upperside. Carved in green stone with a faint cross on the back. The seal can probably be dating to the 3rd.-early 2nd. millenium BC.

Size: 22 mm x 20 mm. and 11 mm. tall.

Condition: Nice Very fine.

Added to the Oberländer collection in 1994...

A fantastic quality Middle- or Neo-Assyrian cylinder seal of a tall and thick type, c. 12th.-8th. century BC.

The seal carved in a rare attractive green-black stone with an Archer and winged sphinx. Top and bottom with a fine herringbone band. Multiple symbols in the fields and the archer has a detailed quiver on his back.

Size: 41 mm. tall and 14-15 mm. thick...

Hand modeled biconical vase with cream ground and red to dark brown decoration.
The body with groups of chevrons starting from a star-shaped pattern on the bottom. The narrow neck with a band of converging zig-zag patterns.
The globular body elongates laterally into pointed knob handles. Standing on a gently rounded base, vase slightly askew in appearance.
Shape and decoration are consistent with painted Hacilar I pottery ware.
For the shape, cf. fig. 140,7, pp...

An Islamic seal in a terrific quality and extra large size, probably Persian, c. 17th.-18th. cent. AD or earlier!

Engraved with finely caligraphy, round seal base with a tall domed handle, pierced at the top.

Size: 43 mm. in diameter and 40 mm tall.

Condition: Good Very fine, lovely redish patina.

Ex. Baldwins Auctions 2005...

A fine very large gable seal carved in white stone with smaller and larger animal, Western Mesopotamia, 4th. mill. BC.

Size: 37 mm long and 27 mm wide, 11 mm thick.

Condition: VF, basically intact with minor wear to the edges.

Added to the Oberländer collection in 1995...

A massive and very rare Faiance medallion, possible a ritual piece, Islamic world, likely Egypt, ca. 8th.-10th. century AD.

Complete amulet of a huge size in nice condition and with fine patina. Decorated with birds, peg on the backside.

Size: 59 mm. in diameter

Ex the collection of Dr. Günter Wiedner, Bayern.

Reff. These pendants are listed in "A Bead Timeline" by J.W. Lankton, p. 74

A choice Islamic Sgraffito pottery bowl, Bamiyan, c. 12th cent AD.

Nice earthenware bowl with incised decorations in the interior. Beige/white underglaze with green and brown decorative colors in splashy designs.

High, rounded walls on a narrow base, folded lip...

Choice bronze seal of bell shape with loop, post-Hittite Kingdoms, most likely Urartu, 1st. millenium BC.

With a fine and interesting engraving in the base.

Size: 23 mm. tall.

Condition: Nice Very Fine, green and red patina.

Provenance: Gustav Oberländer (1926-2012), Oberländer aquired his massive and important collection between 1985 - 2000s, bought at reputable dealers and from old collections. Gustav Oberländer specialized in early stamp seals f...

A triangular stamp seal with handle, Western Mesopotamia, c. 3rd. millenium BC.

Large for type and with the base engraved with a reclining animal with a branch of tree below and a bull upside down. Carved in a lovely green stone.

Size: 27 x 26 mm. 15 mm. tall.

Condition: Very fine, intact and very attractive, with fine uncleaned earthern deposits.

Added to the Oberländer collection in 1993. Comes with original ID card from the Oberländer collection a...

This week I am posting several Bronze Age weapons from the Middle East including a set of 5, very unique, crescent-hilt daggers from the Marlik culture (circa 1000 BC). These all came from the same private collection. For a nearly identical example see "Arms and Armor from Iran" by Manoucher Khorasani p 50 figure 1 and page 53. This specimen appears to have been cleaned partially so I have included a 35X micrograph of an area of the surface showing crystallization common on ancient bronze. The ...

Large decorated powder flask, Morocco, 19th. cent.

Wood with brown leather and brass rivets, attractive patina.

Size: 28 cm. tall.

Choice and intact condition. Ex. Old Danish Private Collection and the flask comes with an identity card from the collection, added in 1990.

A nice tanged leaf shaped bronze dagger from the ancient near east, Caspian Sea Area, Mid-late Bronze age, 2nd. mill. BC.

Very broad, leaf-shaped blade with raised central midrib and a long tang - circa half the length of the blade, with a bend at the top, for better fastening to the wooden handle.

Length: c. 20 cm

Condition: Good Very fine, fine green patina.

Ex. Private Collection in Denmark, formed in the 1990's.

Interesting large stamp, slightly Oval and inspired by Egyptian scarabs, Middle-Assyrian Empire, 15th.-11th. cent. BC.

Very large for the type and engraved with a finely carved winged and horned animal. On the other side was an engraving of Ashur that was deliberately partly erased in antiquity! So the removing of Ashur would have been done by enemies of the Assyrians.

Size: 26 mm. long and 23 mm. wide.

This seal was aquired 1989 and comes with hard impression a...

A fine scaraboid stamp seal, clearly inspired by New Kingdom Egyptian scaraboids, East Anatolia / West Mesopotamia, c. 15th.-12th. cent. BC

The scarab shows a fierce creature reclining right.

Size: 20 mm. long and 15 mm. wide.

Condition: Nice VF, intact with redish deposits.

Added to the Oberländer collection in 1994. Comes with original ID card from the Oberländer collection and imprint!

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

Interesting and rare choice of an orange stone for a tabloid seal, North-West Mesopotamia, Uruk, 2nd. half of 4th. mill. BC.

The seal engraved with a basket shape with a heering pattern, pierced.

Size: 20 x 19 mm.

Condition: Choice Very fine, some wear and deposits.

Added to the Oberländer collection in 1994. Comes with original ID card from the Oberländer collection and imprint!

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

This type of bronze weapon is generally designated as a short sword. It has a substantial midrib with tapering edges. The edges are concave in the upper part and gracefully draw into spikes or wings that extend around either side of the tang. Weapons of this type are found in Northwestern Iran and most likely date to around the 9th century BC. “Weapons of this type [are] widely represented in the Ghaletenti I cemetery in Dailiman.” (“Arms and Armor from Iran” by Manouchehr M. Khorasani,...

An low hemispheric stone seal of the Cruciform design family, Anatolia or Syria, Uruk period, c. 3500 BC.

An early seal in a jet black stone with a nice and symethric engraving of an angle-filled cross.

Size: c. 18-19 mm. in diameter.

Condition: Nice Very Fine, much smooth wear, but completely intact and attractive.

Provenance: Gustav Oberländer (1926-2012), Oberländer aquired his massive and important collection between 1985 - 2000s, bought at repu...

A beautiful pottery bowl with torquoise glaze, black markings and a finely decorated pattern on the interior. Seljug period, 11th.-12th. century.

The bowl in an almost untouched state with fine silvery iridescence on the surface of the exterior. Very beautiful colours.

Size: 14 cm. in diameter. - c. 5,5 inches.

Condition: Choice and intact, spots of missing glaze and usual markings from the making, but a very nice bowl.

Ex. Important Danish Private Col...

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

Nice low relief depiction of the Great King wrestling with stags.

Size: c. 28-29 mm. tall.

Condition: Near VF, intact with some dirt deposits

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

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...

A fine lot of 5 stone stamp seals of the hemispheric or button-shape in different kind of stones incl. serpentine and chlorite, North/west Mespotamian 5th.-4th. millenium BC.

The seal bases mainly engraved with different cruci- forms, but there's also a much earlier Halaf period seal in this lot.

Size: Up to c. 16-17 mm. in diameters

Condition: Mostly intact and very fine, one seal with a crack, another with smaller losses and wear.

Provenance: Gust...

A rare bronze seal with a loop on the back and a beautiful sun-symbol on it's face, Bactria, 3rd. millenium BC.

The seal of good metal and very massive bronze, interesting variant from the usual compartement seals and much rarer.

Size: c. 3,5 cm. in diameter.

Condition: Good Very fine for type with a vivid green patina.

Comes with the original ID-card from below collection!

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

Nice lot of unresearched scaraboid stone seals, Mid-Assyrian period or later 2nd. mill. BC.

Mainly carved with animals. The lot includes seals with wear or minor chips.

Size: c. 16-21 mm. long.

Comes with original ID-cards from below collection.

Provenance: Gustav Oberländer (1926-2012), Oberländer aquired his massive and important collection between 1985 - 2000s, bought at reputable dealers and from old collections. Gustav Oberländer specialized i...

A large Zoomorphic style bronze plaque with a loop for attachment on the back, Scythian c. 700-400 BC.

Attractive with a bird-like creature displayed in the advanced steppe style.

Size: 67 mm. tall and 29 mm. wide.

Condition: Nice VF, intact with a green patina.

Ex. Hafnia Coins, ancient coin dealer in Copenhagen, inventory from c. 1990s.

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.

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

Interesting carving of stylized warrior with shield and sword. Stylized scarab carved in black stone.

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

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

Comes with imprint and original Id card.

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

A nice lot of two provenanced stamp seals, Mesopotamia, Ubaid period, 5th.-4th. millenium BC.

The seals engraved with a grit-pattern and what looks to be a stylized figure (?).

Size: 19 x 17 mm and 22 x 17 mm.

Condition: F-VF, wear and minor chips.

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

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

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. millenium BC.

Triangular seal plate, engraved with a 4-legged and winged animal, finely made knob handle with piercing!

Diameter: 22 x 23 mm.

Condition: Nice very fine, some smooth wear but intact with fine patina.

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

Interesting cylinder seal in black stone, Anatolia, Hittite Empire c. early-mid 2nd. millenium BC.

A fine carving of different animals in a charming later Anatolian style.

Size: 25 mm. tall and 14 mm. wide.

Condition: Nice Very fine, intact with ancient wear and patina.

This seal was aquired 1990. It comes with hard impression and original ID-card from below collection.

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

A massive and highly attractive bronze ring with winged horse and rabbit(?) below, Parthian Empire, 247 BC - 224 AD.

A deeply engraved oval bezel and oval ring ring with broad shoulders.

Ring-Size: 53-54 - male size with inner diameter of c. 20 mm.

Condition: Extremely fine for type, sound metal, wearable with a nice olive patina.

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.

Interesting conoid shaped stamp seal in black stone, probably serpentine, engraved on the base with a deer with large antlers and on the upperside with unidentified engravings. Greater Mesopotamia area and porabably from the Ubaid/Urum period 4th.-3rd. millenium BC.

Super nice stylized engraving of the deer! There's certainly some engravings on the upperside as well but uncleaned and unresearched.

Size: 255 mm. in diameter and c. 18 mm. tall.

Condition: Good Ve...

A very fine lot of four larger stamp seals in superb stones (Banded carnelian, Calchedony), Sassanian, 3rd.-6th. century AD.

The lot includes different motifs on 4 nicely polished elipsoid seals.

Size: 21-23 mm. wide.

Condition: Choice and intact, finely patinated.

Ex. Egeskov Collection, an important and rare collection of Sassanian seals, handpicked over 30 years of collecting.

Kohl bottle of flat shape with a long neck and flat rim, resting on four legs. Bronze, with fine dark green patina. 19th century. Height: 8.5 cm. Very good condition. A rare piece.

3 Near Eastern 7-8th c Wound Glass beads slight loss stable wearable. Old Ca estate collection.