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THBGorgeous Bactrian Carved Lapis Lazuli Handled Cup
Lot 123
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:
$2,800 - $4,200
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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
Jan 16, 2020
Set Reminder
2020-01-16 10:00:00
2020-01-16 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Ancient | Asian | Ethnographic
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-asian-ethnographic-4799
Featuring classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Featuring classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (408)
- Lot Description
Ancient Central Asia, Bactria, ca. 1000 BCE. A finely-carved lapis lazuli cup with a cylindrical body and single looped handle, most impressive for its saturated royal blue hues. In addition to being used to create beautiful jewelry, lapis lazuli was also used by the ancients to carve more practical objects such as game boards, stamps, hair combs, dagger handles, bowls, and cups like this example. During ancient times, merchants delivered lapis from the mines of Bactria via caravan and trade routes to cities in Greece, Egypt, India, Mesopotamia, China, Japan, and Persia . In 1271, Marco Polo wrote about the lapis mines in Bactria; however, not too many knew about them because of the treacherous terrain. Size: 2.5" in diameter x 2.625" H (6.4 cm x 6.7 cm); 3.375" W (8.6 cm) from handle
The ancient mines of Bactria were a valuable source of lapis lazuli of the best color. Lapis was used to carve statuettes of birds and animals as well as dishes, cylinder seals, and beads that have been found in the royal Sumerian tombs of Ur - and jewelry made from lapis was found in Egyptian burial sites dating prior to 3000 BCE. Egyptian women used powdered lapis as eye shadow, and Pliny the Elder waxed poetic about the stone, describing it as "a fragment of the starry firmament."
Provenance: private California, USA collection, purchased near the Iran/Afghanistan border in the 1960s and brought to the US in 1966-1969
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.
#149142Hemispheric section (rim to mid body) reattached with stable radiating fissures. Minute old nicks to rim. Nick by one side of handle may date to when the cup was carved. Otherwise generally excellent and so finely carved with a remarkably smooth finish inside and out.Condition
- Shipping Info
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