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THBAncient Tell Brak Pottery Eye Idol w/ TL
Lot 58d
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$2,000 - $3,000
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| $0 | $25 |
| $300 | $50 |
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| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,500 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 | $20,000 |
About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
Dec 6, 2018
Set Reminder
2018-12-06 10:00:00
2018-12-06 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : DAY 2 : Pre-Columbian, Ethnographic & Fine Art
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/day-2-pre-columbian-ethnographic-fine-art-3699
Day 2 of an important 2-dy auction featuring ancient and ethnographic art from around the world. Today's sale will feature Pre-Columbian, Native American, African / Tribal, Ethnographic, Spanish Colonial, Fine Art, much more. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Day 2 of an important 2-dy auction featuring ancient and ethnographic art from around the world. Today's sale will feature Pre-Columbian, Native American, African / Tribal, Ethnographic, Spanish Colonial, Fine Art, much more. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (599)
- Lot Description
Ancient Near East, Tell Brak, modern day Syria, Late Uruk Period, ca. 3300 to 3000 BCE. Hand-made from ceramic, this is one of the most famous classes of artifact from early Mesopotamia. It has a wide, bell-shaped body surmounted by two loops, forming "eyes." Eye idols were named in the 1930s by the British archaeologist Max Mallowan when he was excavating at the mound called Tell Brak and found hundreds of small anthropomorphic items of similar form to this one - some kind of simplified body topped by large discs for eyes and no other discernible facial features. He named the place where he found them the Temple of the Eyes. Size: 4" W x 5.4" H (10.2 cm x 13.7 cm).
More recently, items like this one have been found beyond the Temple of the Eyes, leading French archaeologist Catherine Breniquet to speculate that examples like this one - characterized as a Type 2, for its bell-shaped body and a neck supporting two perforated circles - could have also been used for separating wool while spinning. The object would have been placed in front of a seated person who used the holes to separate two or three strands and then twist them together. Artwork on cylinder seals from Uruk seems to support this hypothesis. Other scholars have suggested they might have been lids for narrow jars or parts of a firedog. What do you think this mysterious object might have been? See a very similar example with its original shiny red paint still visible at the Louvre (https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/eye-idol).
This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#140244Small losses around base, minor nicks to base, body, and eyes, with light encrustations. Nice earthen deposits throughout. Two probe holes: beneath base and beneath one eye.Condition
- Shipping Info
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All shipping is handled in-house for your convenience. Your invoice from Artemis Gallery will include shipping calculation instructions. If in doubt, please inquire BEFORE bidding for estimated shipping costs for individual items.
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