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A beautiful and graceful long necked glass flask, decorated with four concentric circles around the body. And more circles at the bottom of the neck and along it. It is a very heavy piece because of its thick walls. The circles were done by etching the glass with a stone tool.
Greek, 500 B.C.E. – 400 B.C.E.
18 cm
Fine condition
available upon request
7 leaves and one part-leaf, 312 x 215mm — 372 x 265mm: (i) ORIGEN (d.253/4), translated by RUFINUS (d.410), In Numeros Homiliae, in Latin, [Italy, perhaps Tuscany, early 12th century], 2 almost complete leaves, two columns of 34 lines written in a fine rounded Carolingian minuscule bookhand in dark brown ink, the text containing parts of Homily XXVI and XXVII, with a December 1580 inscription in Italian on f.1v, 372 x 265mm; A MISSAL, in Latin, [Italy, probably Tuscany, early 13th century], 2 leaves, two columns of 31 lines written in brown ink, rubrics and initials in red, the text from the Sanctoral containing masses for Saints Zenobius, Romulus, Reparata and Cerbonius, all Tuscan, 311 x 215mm; ROLANDINUS RODOLPHINUS (d.1300), Summa artis notariae, in Latin, [Italy, late 13th or early 14th century], 1 leaf and one part leaf, two columns of 44 lines written in brown ink, rubrics and paraphs in red, the text containing parts of chapters VIII and IX, 320 x 223mm; A BREVIARY, in Latin, [Italy, late 14th century], two leaves, two columns of at least 23 lines, initials in red and blue, rubrics in red, with part of the text for Feria VI in Easter week, ownership inscriptions in Italian, 355 x 275mm (all recovered from bindings, some cropping, staining and creasing). All in modern card bindings.
Reference #
MS_BZ_1005
Medieval , 1200 C.E. – 1400 C.E.
7 leaves and one part-leaf, 312 x 215mm — 372 x 265mm
Fine Condition
Price available upon request
Baidun Collection, acquired at Christies sale November 2013
This bronze depiction of Silenus, Greek god of drunkenness and wine-press, dates to the Hellenistic period 300 B.C.E. – 200 B.C.E. He was companion of the wine god Dionysus, and from the 5th century B.C.E. the name Silenus was applied to Dionysus’ foster father, which thus aided the gradual absorption of the Satyrs and Sileni into the Dionysiac cult.
Here Silenus is depicted as an old satyr with a long mustache and a square beard with big curling hair locks. The face has strong features with chubby cheeks, snub-nose, fleshy lips, frowning brows, as well as pointed ears with ivy leaves set over both of them. The face is finely modeled with a strong and living expression. It is framed with a contour line at the border of the missing upper and back parts of the head.
Such a facial depiction was applied on a statue which was possibly made of other material. The punched surface of the face may indicate that it was plated or sheathed with silver or gold.
A notorious consumer of wine, Silenus was usually drunk and had to be supported by satyrs or carried by a donkey. When intoxicated Silenus was said to possess special knowledge and the power of prophecy: It was believed that he acquired arcane knowledge and was able to predict the future. Seilenos was, in essence, the spirit of the treading dance of the wine-press – his name being derived from the words seiô, “to move to and fro,” and lênos, “the wine-trough.”
cf. Smith, R.R.R., Hellenistic Sculpture, Thames and Hudson, London 1991, fig. 299; Stewart, A., Greek Sculpture. An Exploration, II ( plates ), Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 1990, figs. 684, 708.
cf. Mitten, D. G., and Doeringer, S. F., editors, Master Bronzes from the Classical World, Exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass., 1967, p.222, fig. 225.
cf. Ibid, p. 125, fig. 125.
1.) Britannica – Satyr
2.) Wikipedia – Silenus
3.) Theoi – Seilenos
4.) Greek Mythology – Silenus
SI_GR_1016
Hellenistic, 300 B.C.E. – 200 B.C.E.
H. 6.5 cm
Two holes below the mouth. Surface with light punch marks
$8,500 USD
The Baidun Collection
This highly intricate and impressive sword most likely belonged to a high-ranking official or member of society. Luristan, a mountainous region, famous for its bronze-smiths, encouraged a voracious appetite for luxury items, particularly weaponry. The tapering blade modelled with a single, central broad rib, runs from the hilt to the tip. The half-oval shape of the guard fits smoothly over the blade, and attaches it to the smoothly undulating form of the hilt; two ibexes in silver attached to the blade, suited for comfortable use in the hand. The pommel is comprised of a flat disc, with a small rounded buttress at the central point. The deep green patina of the bronze makes this sword particularly striking, and the smoothness of the material highlights its excellent state of preservation.
WP_PR_1093
Luristan, 1st Millennium B.C.E.
L. 55 cm
Fine Condition
Sold
Private collection, 1990’s.
This Indus Valley civilization copper anthropomorph is a rare and fine example of abstract silhouettes of human figures that were produced by the indigenous inhabitants of the Ganges river valley. Found together with other implements such as harpoons and rings, the figures were cast in molds from copper and then hammered, with the chisel marks left easily discernible. The natural attractive patina and the earthy deposits are signs of prolonged burial. It has been suggested that these idols functioned as protective guardian spirits.
Given that pure copper is a relatively soft metal and most of the objects show little or no signs of wear, it seems likely that their function was largely dedicatory. Hoards of such objects have been found across north India, the greatest concentration being in Uttar Pradesh. The findspots suggest they were ritually deposited in rivers or marshes, though several related antennae swords were recorded in late Indus Valley civilization (ca. 1500 B.C.) burials at Sanauli.
– Type I – semi-circular headed, curved arms signifying ram’s horns, standing with spread legs.
– Type II – (Indus Script ‘fish’ hieroglyph) similar to Type I but with Indus script incription of ‘fish’ hieroglyph.
– Type III – (Seated, with right arm upraised) similar to Type I but with variants of ‘seated posture’ and one right arm lift upwards.
– Type IV – (Indus Script ‘boar’ ligature & ‘yong [sic] bull’ hieroglyh [sic] inscribed) similar to Type I but with Indus Script inscriptions/ligatures of boar’s head and hieroglyph of one-horned young bull.
Paul Yule had identified Type I and Type II artefacts from among the Copper Hoard Culture finds as anthropomorph types based on orthographic features. With the discovery of new artefacts of the Copper Hoard Culture, the typology can now be extended to four types of anthropomorphs. The types are:
– Type I – semi-circular headed, curved arms signifying ram’s horns, standing with spread legs.
– Type II – similar to Type I but with Indus script incription of ‘fish’ hieroglyph.
– Type III – similar to Type I but with variants of ‘seated posture’ and one right arm lift upwards.
– Type IV – similar to Type I but with Indus Script inscriptions/ligatures of boar’s head and hieroglyph of one-horned young bull.
The findspot of Type II “Sheorajpur Anthropomorph” (with ‘fish’ hieroglyph) is Sheorajpur where an ancient Shiva temple has been discovered. The temple ceiling is decorated with metalwork plates of sculptural friezes attesting to the metalwork tradition of the site during the Bronze Age.
Apart from the insribed or ligatured anthropomorphs with Indus Script hieroglyphs, the link to Indus Script tradition is validated by the finds of anthropomorphs in Sultanate of Oman dated to ca. 1900 BCE and to the find of an anthropomorph in Lothal (2500 BCE?). Thus the Copper Hoard Culture can be seen as a continuum of the Bronze Age Revolution evidenced by the Indus Script Corpora of over 7000 inscriptions – all related to metalwork catalogues or data archives.
It is submitted that the anthropomorphs of Copper Hoard Culture are a reinforcement of the Indus Script decipherent as metalwork cataloguing in Prakrtam (Indian sprachbund), a cipher system mentioned by Vatsyayana as mlecchita vikalpa ‘lit.cipher of mleccha/meluhha, ‘copper workers’.
While many anthropomorph examples are of small size which led Paul Yule to infer that they did not have utilitarian value as ‘metal’, some examples have been reported from Metmuseum of anthropomorphs of sizes 4 1/2 x 3 15/16 in. and 6 1/8 x 4 7/8 in. which have led to their identification as axe-heads or ax celts or copper ingots.
Srini Kalyanaraman suggests that all the anthropomorphs are orthographic form hieroglyphs of Indus Script to signify metalwork dharma saṁjñā ‘signifiers of responsibilities (in guild — as artisans/seafaring merchants) or professional calling cards’. Such dharma saṁjñā may have been disseminated as badges to herald or proclaim the holders’ professional competence in metalwork.
RV 1.10.1 indicates ‘worshippers held aloft as it were (on) a pole’ during Indra dhvaja festivals. It is possible that such anthropomorphs were held aloft on poles as exhibits during festivals to proclaim to the people the new competence in metalwork.
– Anthropomorphic Figure, Copper hoard culture, Farukkhabad, Uttar Pradesh
– http://museumsofindia.gov.in/repository/record/alh_ald-AM-ARCH-218-7671
– Sheorajpur anthropomorph with ‘fish’ hieroglyph and ‘markhor’ horns hieroglyph. ayo’fish’ Rebus: ayo ‘iron, metal’ (Gujarati) khambhaṛā ‘fish fin’ rebus: kammaTa ‘mint, coiner, coinage’. Fish sign incised on copper anthropomorph, Sheorajpur, upper Ganges valley, ca. 2nd millennium BCE, 4 kg; 47.7 X 39 X 2.1 cm. State Museum, Lucknow (O.37) Typical find of Gangetic Copper Hoards.
– http://katalog.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/cgi-bin/titel.cgi?katkey=900213101
– http://heidicon.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/heidicon/239/213101.html
– http://heidicon.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/id/213101
– http://asi.nic.in/asi_museums_lucknow.asp
– http://uptourism.gov.in/pages/top/explore/lucknow/state-museum
– Anthropomorphic figure, Copper hoard culture, Northern India, Doab region, Ganges Valley
– http://www.barbier-mueller.ch/collections/antiquite/age-du-bronze/?lang=en
– http://www.barbier-mueller.ch/collections/antiquite/age-du-bronze/?lang=fr
– Samuel Eilenberg Collection, Bequest of Samuel Eilenberg, 1998
– http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39432
– http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/50592
– http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/50588
– http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/50641
– Anthropomorphic Figure. India. Bronze Age. Mid/Second Half of the 2nd Millenium BCE.
– Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund
– http://www.clevelandart.org/art/2004.31
“Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums”, 2003-2004 (p. 113, Fig. 8)
Archives of Asian Art
Vol. 56 (2006), pp. 109-132
Published by: Duke University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20111341
Page Count: 24
– P. Yule/A. Hauptmann/M. Hughes, “The Copper Hoards of the Indian Subcontinent: Preliminaries for an Interpretation”, Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 36, 1989 [1992], 193-275.
– “The Copper Hoards of the Indian Subcontinent: Preliminaries for an Interpretation” with Appendix I and II by Andreas Hauptmann and Michael J. Hughes (p. 239, fig. 1105; see also p. 241-242 figs. 1121-1123, 1128 for similar anthropomorphs).
– http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/509/
– http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/509/1/00jrgzm_all.pdf
– P. Yule, ‘Addenda to “The Copper Hoards of the Indian Subcontinent: Preliminaries for an Interpretation”‘
– http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/510/
– http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/510/1/yule_man_envir_2001.pdf
– P. Yule, “Beyond the Pale of Near Eastern Archaeology: Anthropomorphic Figures from al-Aqir near Bahla’, Sultanate of Oman” within: T. Stöllner et al. (Hrsg.), “Mensch und Bergbau Studies in Honour of Gerd Weisgerber on Occasion of his 65th Birthday”, (Bochum 2003) 537-542
– http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/109/1/Yule_2003.pdf
– P. Yule, “Metalwork of the Bronze Age in India”
– http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/1895/
– http://crossasia-repository.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/1895/1/Metalwork_BronzeAge_India.pdf
“The Copper Hoard Culture of the Gangā Valley”
– B. Lal (1972), “The Copper Hoard culture of the Gangā Valley”. Antiquity, 46 (184), 282-287. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00053886
– https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/copper-hoard-culture-of-the-ganga-valley/EB6ABFD8D5BD193835C0145C3BD55925
– J. Manuel, “The antecedent’s diverse influences on and by Vaishnava Art, as perceptible from the times of Copper Anthropomorphic Figures” within:
Journal of Religious History South Asia, Vol. A-1 (Published Fall 2015)
– http://www.jorhsa.com/Edition_2015/Copper.pdf
“On Copper Age Anthropomorphic Figures from North India An Ethnological Interpretation”
Jürgen W. Frembgen
East and West
Vol. 46, No. 1/2 (June 1996), pp. 177-182
Published by: Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente (IsIAO)
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/29757261
Page Count: 6
“The Copper Hoards Problem: A Technological Angle”
D. P. AGRAWAL
Asian Perspectives
Vol. 12 (1969), pp. 113-119
Published by: University of Hawai’i Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/42929067
Page Count: 7
T.K.D GUPTA, “The anthropomorphic figures of the copper-hoards from India”
– https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306878726_The_anthropomorphic_figures_of_the_copper-hoards_from_India
15 museums around the world where ancient Indus Civilization artifacts are live.
– https://www.harappa.com/museum
– http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.co.il/2016/07/all-four-types-of-anthropomorphs-of.html
– http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.co.il/2015/05/composite-copper-alloy-anthropomorphic.html
– http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.co.il/2014/01/stunning-metallic-ceiling-of-shivrajpur.html
– http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.co.il/2014/01/meluhha-hieroglyphs-snarling-iron-of.html
– http://bharatkalyan97.blogspot.co.il/2014/01/stunning-metallic-ceiling-of-shivrajpur.html
SI_IN_1001
Late Bronze, 1500 B.C.E. – 1300 B.C.E.
Ht. 33 cm, Wd. 31 cm
Fine Condition.
Price available upon request
Private English Collection, 1969
Dark green, with rich and iridescent patina. Everted rim, folded inward, cylindrical neck with a bulge, long conical body truncated at bottom. White wound spirally from rim to base, marvered into walls, and partially combed into festoons. Bottle of this shape, used for kohl, are common among collections and among excavated material.
CIVILIZATION
Islamic, 1200 C.E.
H. 11 cm
A chip on the bottom of the piece
Price available upon request
The Baidun Collection. Purchased from the Jerusalem Local Market, 1980’s.
A cast bronze axe head with a cylindrical socketing shaft, a tapered spike on the back end, and a horizontal axe blade on the front.
For similar see: Nikolaus Boroffka, Simple technology. Casting moulds for axe-heads. In: Tobias L. Kienlin, Ben Roberts (ed.), Metals and society. Studies in honour of Barbara S. Ottaway.
Universitätsforschungen zur Prähistorischen Archäologie 169. Vertag
Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH (Bonn 2009), pp. 246-257, n. 1-2.
REFERENCE #
WP_PR_1115
Canaanite, 1200 B.C.E. – 800 B.C.E.
Time of the Israelite Kingdom
L. 20 cm
Fine condition
$2500
