< Previous4A GROUP OF SIX FROG-SHAPED WEIGHTS L. 1.9–2.1 cm. Hematite. Near Eastern, 3rd–2nd mill. B.C. CHF 2,400 The six weights differ slightly in size and each represents a frog about to leap. Formerly priv. coll. P. Fischer, Aarburg, Switzerland; acquired 2001. With Dr. Busso Peus Nachf. e. K., Frankfurt a. M., Auction 28.4.2017, lot 725. Cf. D. Noel Adams et al., When Orpheus Sang. An Ancient Bestiary (Paris 2004) 54, no. 43. 5 A STAMP SEAL WITH ANIMALS H. 1.3 cm. W. 1.5 cm. Black steatite. Near Eastern, 9th–7th cent. B.C. CHF 1,900 Stamp seal with an offset handle decorated with incisions. Square base with the representa- tion of a standing quadruped with a small animal between its legs. Above, a bird and a twig (or a scorpion). Deep incisions for the animals’ rumps, shallow incisions for their legs and the twig. An incised line frames the whole. A perforation at the base of the handle. Slight traces of use, otherwise intact. Mounted with a 925-sterling silver clasp as a pendant on a seven-part steel necklace. Formerly Coll. Dr. Georges Stephan, Hamburg, formed in the 1960s from the property of the Ham- burg antiquities dealer Julius Konietzko (1886–1952). For the type and style of the seal, cf. H. Keel-Leu, Vorderasiatische Stempelsiegel (Fribourg, Switzer- land 1991) 57 ff., nos. 67–70 with illus.; B. Buchanan–P. R. S. Moorey, Catalogue of Ancient Near Eastern Seals in the Ashmolean Museum, Vol. III, Cat. Oxford (Oxford 1988) 31–33, nos. 212–249, pls. 7–8. Roughly 550 seals of this type were studied by J.-W. Meyer (Die eisenzeitlichen Stempelsiegel aus dem Amuq-Gebiet, Göttingen 2008); cf. esp. his types IIE2.1.4.1 and IIE2.2.4.1.6A PAIR OF WHETSTONE HANDLES WITH IBEX PROTOMES H. 10.4 cm and 9.2 cm. Bronze. Luristan, 11th–10th cent. B.C. CHF 2,200 Two ibex protomes with long horns that curve back until they touch the tips of the ears. Elongated, slender necks. Each protome transitions into a slightly conical tube below which the animal’s forelegs are folded. Two drill holes at the lower end of each tube, probably to attach a chain. One ibex with a neck ring. The other ibex has lost about half of the right horn and the adjacent tip of the right ear; traces of bluish paint (azurite?) on the muzzle as well as on the inside and outside of the tube. Formerly priv. coll. K. A., Switzerland, acquired September 1980. Thence by descent. Cf. G. Zahlhaas, Luristan. Antike Bronzen aus dem Iran (Munich 2002) 60 f., cat. nos. 117–121.7A STATUETTE OF A HORSE L. 8 cm. H. 6.2 cm. Clay. Near Eastern, 2nd mill. B.C. CHF 1,200 The horse stands calmly with splayed legs and looks straight ahead. The round eyes are ap- plied and punched with a circle and dot. Pinched ears near the top of the mane. Flat muzzle with a groove for the mouth and pierced nostrils. An applied band with pierced dots around the muzzle. Intact. Votive gift or toy. Formerly Munich art market, 2001. For the head and the compact modelling of the body, cf. A. S. Walker, Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection (Mainz 1996) nos. 176, 182 with illus.8A BULL ASKOS L. 12.4 cm. Terracotta. Cyprus, Late Bronze Age (Late Cypriot II), ca. 1450–1200 B.C. CHF 2,600 Stylized quadruped with powerful horns, appliqued, ring-shaped eyes with spherical pupil, small, spoon-shaped ears, vigorously modelled neck, cylindrical body and short, slightly splayed legs. The tail follows the curvature of the hindquarters. The short muzzle forms a tubular spout. A filling-hole at the back of the head. A strap handle runs from the neck to the middle of the rump. The white coating and brown matt glaze create a decorative pattern of stripes. Right hind leg reattached. Tip of left hind leg restored. Left horn partially filled in. Formerly Coll. Eugene V. Thaw (1927–2018), American art dealer and collector, owner of an art gal- lery on Madison Avenue in Manhattan and a past president of the Art Dealers Association of America. Cf. W. Seipel (ed.), Die Sammlung zyprischer Antiken im Kunsthistorischen Museum (Vienna 1999) 88, 91, cat. no. 26 with illus.Next >