Mesopotamian Stone Seal Beads - Zoomorph & Figures

拍品描述

Near East, Mesopotamia, ca. 3000–1000 BCE. A pair of small hardstone seal beads, each laterally drilled so it could be strung and worn against the body, the mark of ownership never far from the owner's hand. The larger is a rectangular block of mottled grey speckled stone, its face cut with deep angular grooves that resolve, perhaps, into an abstracted zoomorph: a spine, splayed limbs, a crossed motif above. Its companion is a domed conical bead in a dark, near-black polished stone, the underside engraved with two standing figures rendered in the spare linear shorthand typical of early Near Eastern glyptic. Both were likely pressed into damp clay to authenticate goods, containers, or documents, and both would have carried apotropaic weight as amulets alongside their administrative purpose. Size of rectangular bead: 0.92" H x 1.25" W x 0.34" D (2.3 cm H x 3.2 cm W x 0.9 cm D); Size of cone bead: 0.95" H x 0.95" Diam (2.4 cm H x 2.4 cm Diam). The stamp seal precedes the cylinder seal in Mesopotamia and outlives it in the peripheries, surviving as the workaday sealing device of herders, householders, and provincial officials long after Uruk scribes had adopted the rolling cylinder. Its logic is simple and durable: a personal design, incised in reverse into a hard stone, becomes a signature the moment it meets wet clay on a jar stopper, a door lock, or a bulla sealing a bundle of goods. Because the images are cut for impression rather than display, they read best as negatives, which is why the linear economy of figures and animals on such seals can appear abstract on the stone itself and legible only in the clay. SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700. PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception. Item #204615

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