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THBFine Tel Brak Late Uruk Stone Eye Idol
Lot 79
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
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Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$1,800 - $2,500
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| $300 | $50 |
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| $5,000 | $500 |
| $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
Nov 16, 2023
Set Reminder
2023-11-16 10:00:00
2023-11-16 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Ethnographic, Fine Art
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-ethnographic-fine-art-14161
Museum-worthy examples of classical antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Viking, Far East / Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Nautical, Fossils, Ancient Jewelry, Fine / Visual Arts, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Museum-worthy examples of classical antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Viking, Far East / Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Native American, Spanish Colonial, Nautical, Fossils, Ancient Jewelry, Fine / Visual Arts, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (267)
- Lot Description
Ancient Near East, Tell Brak, Late Uruk Period, ca. 3300 to 3000 BCE. A very fine and characteristically abstract eye idol, hand-carved from creamy white stone with surface deposits creating attractive areas of white, sienna brown, and rosy beige. One of the most famous types of early Mesopotamia, this form has a bell-shaped body surmounted by two conjoined circles with drilled loops which form the "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 huge discs for eyes and no other discernible facial features. He named the place where he found them "The Temple of the Eyes." Size: 1.875" in diameter around the widest area x 2.625" H (4.8 cm x 6.7 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 could have also been used for separating wool while spinning. This piece 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. Still other scholars have suggested that such they might have been lids for slender vessels or elements of a firedog.
Provenance: ex-Estate of Eldert Bontekoe, Pegasi Numismatics, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA acquired before 2000
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.
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#182290Expected surface wear with minute nicks to peripheries of "eyes", base, and areas of the body commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and very nice. Surface graced with deposits as shown.Condition
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