Stone Weight - CK.0572Origin: Mesopotamia Circa: 2000 BC to 1000 BCDimensions: .5" (1.3cm) high x .5" (1.3cm) wide x .75" (1.9cm) depth Collection: Near Eastern Art Style:  More »

Stone Weight - CK.0572Origin: Mesopotamia Circa: 2000 BC to 1000 BCDimensions: .5" (1.3cm) high x .5" (1.3cm) wide x .75" (1.9cm) depth Collection: Near Eastern Art Style: Babylonian Medium: Stone   « Less

Stone Amulet in the Form of a Bull - CK.0580Origin: Mesopotamia Circa: 3000 BC to 2000 BCDimensions: .75" (1.9cm) high x .875" (2.2cm) wide x .375" (1.0cm) depth Collection:  More »

Stone Amulet in the Form of a Bull - CK.0580Origin: Mesopotamia Circa: 3000 BC to 2000 BCDimensions: .75" (1.9cm) high x .875" (2.2cm) wide x .375" (1.0cm) depth Collection: Near Eastern Art Medium: Stone   « Less

Carnelian Zoomorphic Amulet - CK.0581Origin: Mesopotamia Circa: 3000 BC to 2000 BCDimensions: .5" (1.3cm) high x 1" (2.5cm) wide x .375" (1.0cm) depth Collection: Near  More »

Carnelian Zoomorphic Amulet - CK.0581Origin: Mesopotamia Circa: 3000 BC to 2000 BCDimensions: .5" (1.3cm) high x 1" (2.5cm) wide x .375" (1.0cm) depth Collection: Near Eastern Art Medium: Carnelian   « Less

Jemdet Nasr Stone Seal - CK.0683Origin: Mesopotamia Circa: 4000 BC to 3000 BCDimensions: .875" (2.2cm) high x .5" (1.3cm) wide Collection: Near Eastern Style: Jemdet Nasr  More »

Jemdet Nasr Stone Seal - CK.0683Origin: Mesopotamia Circa: 4000 BC to 3000 BCDimensions: .875" (2.2cm) high x .5" (1.3cm) wide Collection: Near Eastern Style: Jemdet Nasr Medium: Stone   « Less

Jemdet Nasr Stone Seal - CK.0684Origin: Mesopotamia Circa: 4000 BC to 3000 BCDimensions: .625" (1.6cm) high x .9" (2.3cm) wide Collection: Near Eastern Style: Jemdet Nasr  More »

Jemdet Nasr Stone Seal - CK.0684Origin: Mesopotamia Circa: 4000 BC to 3000 BCDimensions: .625" (1.6cm) high x .9" (2.3cm) wide Collection: Near Eastern Style: Jemdet Nasr Medium: Stone   « Less

Glass Seal Depicting a Menorah - LK.232 Origin: Israel Circa: 1 st Century CE to 2 nd Century CE Style: Judean Medium: Stone

Glass Seal Depicting a Menorah - LK.232 Origin: Israel Circa: 1 st Century CE to 2 nd Century CE Style: Judean Medium: Stone   « Less

Terracotta incantation bowls such as this example are also known as "demon bowls." This term is used to describe vessels found in the Middle East that were created as forms  More »

Terracotta incantation bowls such as this example are also known as "demon bowls." This term is used to describe vessels found in the Middle East that were created as forms of both protective and aggressive magic. They are identified by the writing on their interior (and occasionally on the outside) in either Jewish- Aramaic, Syriac, Mandaic, or Middle Persian (Pahlavi). Placed in the corners of rooms where demons were believed to sneak in through cracks in the floor and walls, the bowl was buried face-down to lure malevolent spirits inside in order to trap them. The script was presumably an enticement, attracting demons so they would not do harm to persons or property. The open area in the center, combined with the sinuous, flowing script along the flared sides, does give the impression of a swirling vortex. Elegant in its simplicity, powerful in its incantation, this extraordinary bowl is a tangible link to magical practices of the Middle East in Late Antiquity. The interior of this extraordinary demon bowl is inscribed with nine lines of text, spiraling outwards clockwise from the center, in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic script. The text translates as: This bowl for the sealing and protection of the house and dwelling of Babai, son of Batqina. I, Babai, son of Batqina, am standing on a great mountain. Upon a great mountain of stone, I am tying magic words. I am going out and flying against you, upon the ruins of the settlement and the trenches of the field, and upon the paths of human beings. The healing that I am revealing by it and the (…) that I am protecting by it. A knife is in my hand which exists from the earth to the sky which was given to me by the mother of all great demons, of demons and dews and satans and idols and Liliths. By it they are being injured and their blood flows to deep rivers. Because (…) I have killed, and thus I have obstructed, and thus I have struck you, the knife in your heart. By the name of SL SL SL SL SL SL SL, by these seven words, the heavens and the earth are bound. By them are sealed and counter sealed the house of Babai, son of Batqina. By the upper mystery, by the middle mystery, by the lower mystery, by the upper divine presence, by the middle divine presence, by the lower divine presence, by a mystery of the mother and her daughter, by the mystery of a bride and her mother-in-law, by the sun and moon fires, by the image of the signet ring of Solomon the King, son of David.   « Less

Byzantine Brass Offering Bowl - LO.708 Origin: Turkey Circa: 1000 AD to 1300 AD Dimensions: 1.25" (3.2cm) high x 6.5" (16.5cm) depth Collection: Byzantine Art Style:  More »

Byzantine Brass Offering Bowl - LO.708 Origin: Turkey Circa: 1000 AD to 1300 AD Dimensions: 1.25" (3.2cm) high x 6.5" (16.5cm) depth Collection: Byzantine Art Style: Byzantine Medium: Brass   « Less

This beautifully intricate and elegant piece of glass pertains to the Islamic period, and was made on the Levantine Coast of the Middle East. Glass has a long and varied  More »

This beautifully intricate and elegant piece of glass pertains to the Islamic period, and was made on the Levantine Coast of the Middle East. Glass has a long and varied history in this region, where it was originally moulded and sculpted before the development of glass-blowing in the first century BC. This technique gave considerable freedom to create new and varied forms, and glassmaking practices were subsequently refined by Alexandrian, Syrian, Byzantine and Sassanian craftsmen before they were inherited by artists of the Islamic period. However, the Islamic period was also one of innovation, with the development of advanced glass cutting, moulding, decorating, gilding, painting and dyeing processes that went on to define technological and stylistic parameters in the Renaissance following the Crusades, and indeed many subsequent glassmaking traditions. This piece is probably an unguent pot, and would certainly have contained something of considerable value, intended for a prestigious audience. It is free-blown, with a rounded, thick-walled body and a flaring conical mouth. The ground is amber in colour, with opaque white and red marvered threads wound spirally and tooled into a widely-spaced festoon pattern. The threading pattern – while not necessarily unique – is characteristic of stylistic traditions in Syria, rather than the Abbasid tradition of glass engraving, or the Mesopotamian linear intaglio and relief cutting methods. The threads are polychrome, with a careful ordering of contrasting hues that lift the composition and lend a fluidly elegant yet geometrically pleasing effect. This is an attractive and well-executed example of the ancient glass blowers’ skill, which deserves a prominent place in any serious collection of Islamic glass. - (SP.110 (LSO))   « Less

Small Ivory Doll - SF.325 Origin: Jericho, Palestine Circa: 600 AD to 900 AD Dimensions: 3.30" (8.4cm) high Collection: Biblical Antiquities Style: Biblical Medium:  More »

Small Ivory Doll - SF.325 Origin: Jericho, Palestine Circa: 600 AD to 900 AD Dimensions: 3.30" (8.4cm) high Collection: Biblical Antiquities Style: Biblical Medium: Ivory   « Less