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THBSumerian Terracotta Envelope (Bulla) - TL Tested
Lot 74
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:
$1,000 - $1,500
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| $0 | $25 |
| $300 | $50 |
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| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,500 |
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| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 | $20,000 |
About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
May 9, 2019
Set Reminder
2019-05-09 10:00:00
2019-05-09 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Ancient | Asian | Ethnographic
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-asian-ethnographic-4110
Featuring classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. All legally acquired, legal to sell. Satisfaction guaranteed. Convenient in-house shipping. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Featuring classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. All legally acquired, legal to sell. Satisfaction guaranteed. Convenient in-house shipping. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (374)
- Lot Description
Sumer, modern-day Iraq, ca. 3300 BCE. An egg-shaped grey terracotta envelope, hollow on the interior, and stamped all over its surface with oval seals, some of which are still clear and have avian and lunar designs. Size: 1.45" W x 2" H (3.7 cm x 5.1 cm)
As Sumerian agriculture grew, farmers and traders realized they needed a recording system to track the movement of animals and goods. This led to the development of the first known writing system, cuneiform. The writing style - at first pictographic but later more abstract - was used on square clay tablets mainly to record agricultural transactions. Small tokens were also used to represent units of goods. Hollow clay balls or ovoids like this one, called bulla (pl. bullae), were used as envelopes for holding tablets or tokens. They were sealed with geometric impressions that would need to be broken in order to access the contents within. Some were made with the same number of impressions as the records within, so that the seal would not need to be broken to count the records.
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: Ex-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.
#121014Repaired from around four large pieces, with a loss to the top of one side as shown.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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