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...

A superb and large specimen of an Old Elamite / Mespotamian type of bronze battle axe, c. early 2nd. mill. BC.

The axe well-modelled, the blade flares outward in a spectacular curve, its edge delineated as a thinner border. Thick socket with two spikes on the back and decorated with concenthric rings. The socket looks like the open mouth of a beast when viewed horisontically.

Size: c. 115 mm. wide and c. 88 mm. tall. The blade is c 80 mm...

A fine depiction of a Mesopotamian Cylinder seal in black stone, Neo-Assyrian Epire, c. 9th.-7th. cent. BC.

The seal is carved with the enthroned Great King or Ashur himself seated, drinking from a cup in front of a table with a large wine amphora or vase. Behind the table there's a standing attendant with a Fan.Crescent and star symbols in the fields.

Size: 26 x 12 mm...

Attractive and interesting bronze seal where a Lion is fighting a Bull with long horns, Neo-Babylonian c. 8th.-6th. century BC.

The seal is round and looks to have been made without handle or drill.

Size: 17 mm. in diameter.

Condition: Very fine, intact with much patina!

Added to the Oberländer collection in 2002...

A nice round stamp seal with handle, with precise finding place near the ancient city of Antioch, and dating to the Mesopotamian late Halaf-early Ubaid period, Late Neolithic - Early Chalcholite, c. 5th. millenium BC.

Nice early hemispheriod stamp seal with low handle.

Size: 26 mm wide, 12 mm...

A fine cylinder seal carved in the fine hard Hemaetite stone, Neo-Assyrian, 9th.-7th. cent. BC

The seal is of a fine style, engraved with stylized animals in drill style, incl. a scorpion

Size: 18 mm tall and 8 mm. wide.

Condition: Near Extremely fine, fine miniature carving.

This seal was aquired 1994 and comes with hard impression and original ID-card from below collection...

Ancient Near East, Luristan, ca. 1200 to 800 BC. A large elaborate bronze cloak pin, cast via the lost wax (cire perdue) process with poppy flower shaped terminal.

Used to fasten clothes, in this case due to the unusually heavy fabric and decoration, likely leather for presentation use - perhaps for a very thick cape or leather armor...

A nice lot of 6 stamp seals in various stones, mainly scaraboid seals from the Middle-Assyrian period, c. 1500-1100 BC...

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

The bowl with fine silvery iridescence on the surface of the exterior. Very beautiful colours.

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

Condition: Choice w. spots of missing glaze and usual markings from the making. A possible hairline repair on the exterior and slight repaint.

Ex. Important Danish Private ...

A large and superb early bronze bowl, Ancient Near East, Early Achaemenid / Greco-Persian, c. 7th.-5th. century BC.

The phiale designed in high relief as a sun or a flower with multible rays radiating from the central omphallos. Very flat design, typical for this type of phiale for making drink-offers.

Size: 19 cm. in diameter.

Condition: Extremely fine, exceptionally attractive Phiale with a green and olive patina.

Ex. Collection of Gert Cleff, Wuppe...

An intact and attractive pottery bowl, 9th.-10th. century AD.

The bowl decorated with stylized caligraphy in green-brown on a beige ground.

Size: 12,8 cm. wide and 5 cm. tall.

Condition: Choice, original glaze, perhaps a chip restored, but difficult to spot.

Provenance: Important Danish-French Private collection, (aquired 1970- c. 2007) of Islamic pottery ware from the 9th.-12th. century. Comes with COA.

Ancient banded agate bead Roman - Persian 100 BC- 300 AD great condition. Size 15mm by 7 mm

Bactrian bronze seal, Late 3rd - Early 2nd Millennium BC. Simple design on the round base, tall handle. Beautyful brown patina - attractive!. Interesting crude design of an animal.

Condition: Superb! Exceptional brown patina!

Provenance: Johan Dæhlfeldt Estate Collection - 40 years of collecting antiquities.

An interesting and scarce geomethric carving on an gable form stamp seal, found Near Antioch (Western Mesopotamia and present day easternmost Turkey), dating c. 4th. millenium BC or somewhat later.

Finely carved in greenish stone. Drill carved with stars!

Size: 28 x 18 mm. and 18 mm. tall.

Condition: Nice Very fine, uncleaned deposits but sharp!

Added to the Oberländer collection in 1992. Comes with original ID card from the Oberländer collection and...

A very attractive saraboid seal, carved on the upper side with three section of grit-patterns, and on the seal base with a frontal stylized Rams head emblem, Anatolia, probably costal region, 2nd. millenium BC.

As a very precious material in antiquity, Lapis seals were expensive and thus scarcely seen today. This particular stone is in a very deep good color.

Size: c. 15 mm. long.

Condition: Extremely fine, light deposits.

Ex. German private collectio...

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 ...