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A Sumerian limestone ritual stone vase image 1
A Sumerian limestone ritual stone vase image 2
A Sumerian limestone ritual stone vase image 3
Lot 60

A Sumerian limestone ritual stone vase

Antiquities
7 December 2021, 12:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

£20,000 - £30,000

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A Sumerian limestone ritual stone vase
Late Uruk-Jemdet Nasr Period, circa 3100-2900 B.C.
Of flaring form with flattened foot, decorated in raised relief with a frieze of two lions each attacking a bull, on a notched groundline, 12.6cm high

Footnotes

Provenance:
Hans (1900-1967) and Marie-Louis (1912-1997) Erlenmeyer collection, Basel.
Western Asiatic Cylinder Seals and Antiquities from the Erlenmeyer Collection (Part I); Sotheby's, London, 9 July 1992, lot 273.

Stone vessels of this type were highly prized luxury goods in Sumerian civilisation, being manufactured of often imported stone and requiring a greatly skilled carver. This type of cup often depicted bulls, though more commonly showed the beasts in ceremonial procession, as also depicted on contemporaneous cylinder seals, perhaps reflecting a real-life sacred herd associated with a religious ritual. The motif of a lion attacking a bull may be drawn from everyday life, though, more notably, it likely held symbolic significance, perhaps reflecting the conflict between destructive and harmonious forces of nature.

Additional information

Bid now on these items

An Anatolian marble idol
A Mesopotamian clay cuneiform foundation cone with dedication inscription of King Lipit-Ishtar of Isin
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A Greek bronze horse
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