Christoph Bacher Archäologie Ancient Art

Cuneiform Tablet from the Ziggurat of Puzrish-Dagan
Ur III Period, 2048 B.C.

Magnificent cuneiform tablet from the court in Puzrish-Dagan, a city only a few kilometres southeast of Nippur. The text on both sides is an exact dated settlement of the state stockyard to court officials, who before placed an order. Delivered were one young goat, one lamb, two fattened sheep, 19 sheep, 28 ewes, two billy goats, one goat and two bulls. It is further mentioned literally: “They were deducted from the account of Nasa for the mastyard, as offerings to the gods Enlil and Ninlil, his wife, and as slaughter cattle for the kitchen.” In Puzrish-Dagan around 12,000 cuneiform tablets were found in the early 20th century, the majority were sold in the ancient art market and are today in renowned museums, such as the Royal Ontario Museum, Harvard Museum or the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures in Chicago.

Dimensions: 4.5 cm x 4 cm

Provenance: Auction G. Hirsch und Nachfolger 179, 1993, lot 1772. There acquired by the collection J. K. -E., Hessen, Germany. Last in the German art market.

Price: 4 000 Euro

For all detail please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/keilschrift-tafel-aus-der-zikkurat-von-puzrish-dagan/

Northern Mesopotamian Tell Halaf Idol
5th millennium B.C.

Beautifully preserved terracotta idol of the Tell Halaf type, named after the late Neolithic settlement hill in the northeast of Syria. The figure depicts a seated woman with the typical fertility features. Her unstructured legs with the voluptuous thighs tapering towards the front. She holds her large round breasts up with her arms. The neck merges directly to the cone-like head. In her face the eyes are gently indicated. The woman wears a turban-like headcover, with its end cascading at the back. With remains of brown and ochre coloured painting. A rare idol in this condition. With a TL analysis of 24 April 2024 confirming the age of the figure.

Dimensions: 8.5 cm high

Provenance: Bavarian private collection A. D.-U., acquired prior to 1990. Since then in a family estate. Last in the German art market. With a TL-test.

Price: 4 800 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/nordmesopotamisches-tell-halaf-idol/

Egyptian Mummy Mask Made of Inscribed Papyri with a Winged Scarab
Ptolemaic period, late 2nd century B.C. to early 1st century A.D.

Expressive mummy mask of inscribed papyri, which is worked to a cartonnage, covered with a layer of plaster and painted polychrome. The mask with a tripartite wig and a golden-yellow filet, which is bound at the back with a red thread. In the centre of the filet a golden sun disk framed in red. Above a finely painted winged scarab with a blue body and golden-yellow wings with blue stripes. The blue lobes of the wig cascade over the shoulders in the front and finish in horizontal red, golden-yellow and blue stripes. Between an opulent collar with registers, which depict tongues, beads and lines in different colours. The face with fine features, the eyes with large round pupils, thin, black framing and a long eyeliner. Above are finely drawn, narrow brows. The ears protruding from the wig, nose and mouth are sculpturally modelled and ochre coloured like the face. On the inside remains of inscribed papyri are clearly recognizable. The readable inscription on the inside of the back of the mask is a settlement in Demotic language. It mentions month dates, precisely the third month of the Peret period (season of the emergence), as well as the first three months of the Shemu period (season of the harvest), as well as amounts of money in copper standard. Thanks to the inscription the mask can be dated very exactly to the late 2nd to early 1st century B.C. Mounted.

Dimensions: 46 cm high

Provenance: Dutch collection V. D. W., Hoofddorp, acquired prior to 1983. Last in the French art market. With a copy of the collection inventory list.

Price: 24 000 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/mumienmaske-mit-geflugeltem-skarabaus-aus-beschriebenen-papyri/

Sabaean Ibex Frieze Altar of Banded Alabaster
4th-3rd century B.C.

High-quality worked out alabaster frieze with five stylized ibexes, which formed the finale of an altar plate or an offering table. The ibexes are set en face next to each other. The banded alabaster was selected in a way that the animal horns shine in red. The sculptural heads are oversized and end sharp-edged at the bottom. The eyes are round and button-like. The entire animal body with the rolled in horns only reveals itself from the side. Worked in flat relief, the body is way too small in relation to the head, which is typical for the Sabaean art, which always focuses on the head. Ibex friezes are used as decorative elements also in the architectural structure of sacral buildings, for example in the Bar’an temple in Ma’rib. In addition to being a symbolic animal for various South Arabian deities, the ibex also represents fertility. The selection of the stone, whose coloured grain provides structure to the animal depictions, makes this frieze a rarity. See for the type “Yemen – Kunst und Archäologie im Land der Königin von Saba”, Wilfried Seipel (ed.), No. 230, pages 319-320, as well as No. 234, pages 321-322.

Dimensions: 7.4 cm x 19.8 cm

Provenance: From the private estate of the Parisian art dealer François Antonovich (1934-2023), acquired in the 1970s.

Price: 4 000 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/sabaisches-steinbockfries-eines-altars-aus-gebandertem-alabaster/

Gold Ring with Carnelian Intaglio of Mars Gradivus
2nd century A.D.

Very beautiful gold ring dating to the mid 20th century with an oval Roman carnelian intaglio depicting Mars Gradivus. The god going to war with a helmet marches with a spear and field standard to the left. In front of him an incense burner. A very beautiful intaglio with many details. The gold ring is curved outwards, the inside is flat. The setting is open and lets the intaglio shine through beautifully. Ready to wear.

Dimensions: 56 (ring size); 7.7 gram

Provenance: From an old English collection. Thence with Bertolami auctions in London on 7 July 2023, lot 117.

Price: 2 200 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/goldring-mit-karneol-gemme-des-mars-gradivus/

Eastern Greek Core-Formed Glass Alabastron with the Original Bronze Suspension
6th-5th century B.C.

Opaque, blue glass with a spherical corpus, short neck and flat rim. Yellow and white decorative threads are coiled straight on the shoulder and on the lower part of the body, in between several rows of applied wavy decorative bands. On the rim a yellow glass thread. The original bronze wire is still wrapped on the handles on the shoulder and is knotted at the top to form a large loop. In this way the aryballos, which probably held precious oils for body cleansing, was affixed on the cloth and carried around. Regarding the production: In the sand core technique, sand containing clay was formed into the core of the future vessel. The vessel was formed by immersing the sand core in the glass melt. After slowly cooling down, the sand core was removed and only the valuable hollow vessel remained. On a foot ring. With an old collection label with the number 984.

Dimensions: 5.8 cm high (glass); 9 cm high (with bronze hanger)

Provenance: From the private collection of the French archaeologist Louis-Gabriel Bellon (1819-1899). For over 120 years in a family estate. Accompanied by a French antiquities passport.

Price: 8 600 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/ostgriechischer-glas-aryballos-in-sandkerntechnik-mit-original-bronze-aufhangung/

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Roman Terracotta Lagynos with the Head of a Flavian Woman
Late 1st century A.D.

Large Roman lagynos with the head of a noble Flavian woman on the bottle neck. The bulbous jug with a wide, low body is abundantly decorated on the upper side with reliefs. These depict garlands, Bacchants with wineskins, the bearded head of Bacchus, as well as a young and an old Silenus in profile. The head of the Flavian woman with a high towering curly toupee, the typical hair style for the period, which consists of four rows and is knotted in a bird's nest-like ring at the back. From the calotte raises the spout with a profiled rim. At the back of the head starts the ribbed band handle, which reaches to the shoulder. At the bottom engraved letters, which probably read the name or the initials of the manufacturer. With an old Sotheby’s label. See for the type the lagynos in the Princeton University Art Museum with the inventory number y1956-104.

Dimensions: 26 cm high

Provenance: English private collection, acquired from Sotheby's on 13 June 1966. Thence again with Sotheby's on 8 December 1994, lot 196.

Price: 4 800 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/terrakota-lagynos-mit-dem-kopf-einer-flavierin/

Egyptian Limestone Relief with the Cartouche of Ramesses II
New Kingdom, 19th dynasty, 1279-1213 B.C.

Large and heavy fragment of a limestone relief depicting the right part of the cartouche of Ramesses II. Mentioned is his birth name, whereby the sequence of the hieroglyphs does not exactly follow the reading. Due to reverence reasons the two deities Re (or Ra) and Amun – facing each other – are positioned above the profane signs. The complete text reads: “Ramesses-su Meri-Amun”, which means “Ramesses, loved by Amun”. The hieroglyphs are set by an oval cartouche tied into a shen ring, which stands for the duration and infinite recurrence of cyclical time. The god Horus in form of a falcon is depicted on the left side. He looks to the right and wears the pschent, the double crown, which identifies him as the ruler of Upper- and Lower Egypt. Mounted.

Dimensions: 30.8 cm high

Provenance: US private collection Donald Wonder (1938-2023), acquired prior to 1998. With a copy of an inventory list, listing the relief under the number 27.

Price: 10 000 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/kalksteinrelief-mit-der-kartusche-ramses-ii/

Archaic Terracotta Head of a Woman from Medma
around 500 B.C.

Exceedingly charming and high-quality terracotta head of a woman dating to the Late Archaic period. The oval face with a prominent chin, high cheek bones, straight nose, almond-shaped eyes and the typical smile. The ears adorned with spherical earrings. The woman has a veil pulled over her head, which is hemmed by a broad filet or diadem. The face is framed by two thick rows of corkscrew curls, which also cover the ears. The long neck is mostly still preserved. Possibly from Medma. On a custom-made metal base.

Dimensions: 14 cm high

Provenance: Cahn Galerie Basel, there acquired by a Parisian collection. On 29 October 2013 with Drouot in Paris, lot 227. There acquired by the gallery Tarantino. Accompanied by a French antiquities passport, one of 2014, the other one of 2023.

Price: 8 000 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/archaischer-terrakottakopf-einer-frau/

Hallstatt Bronze Pendant with Teardrop-shaped Beads
6th century B.C.

Heavy bronze pendant consisting of 41 horizontal and 30 vertical ring pairs which are connected on top and at the bottom. Three pendants each hanging on the lowest ring pairs. In the centre rod-shaped pendants with a large eyelet, angular cross section and teardrop-shaped finish. These are flanked by two short pendants with spherical finish. The heavy pendant once served as a body jewellery for special cults or in the sepulchral field. From southeast Europe. Mounted.

Dimensions: 18 cm x 22 cm

Provenance: From a southern German private collection, inherited from the grandfather 30 years ago. Last in the German art market.

Price: 2 800 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/hallstattzeitliches-bronze-gehange-mit-tropfenformigen-anhangern/

mPhoenician Gl ass Amulet of a Bearded MaPhoenician Glass Amulet of a Bearded Ma
6th-4th century B.C.

Finely worked out, for suspension vertically pierced glass head of a bearded man. The face and the ears are of yellow, opaque glass, the round blue eyes are framed in white and then again in blue. The nose and mouth with its broad lips are also in yellow. The man wears a long blue, in vertical strands formed beard. His hair in the same color is curly and short, the bulging brows are grown together on the forehead. The back of the head is smooth. See for the type with a yellow face and large round eyes the glass head in the Metropolitan Museum of Art with the Accession Number 74.51.4038. A similar head from Carthage see Christie’s auction on 26 April 2012, lot 388. Mounted.

Dimensions: 3 cm high

Provenance: From a southern German private collection, 30 years ago inherited from the grandfather. Last in a German art market.

Price: 3 600 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/phonizisches-glas-amulett-eines-bartigen-mannes/

Egyptian Wood Sarcophagus of a Falcon with the Belonging Falcon Mummy
26th dynasty, 664-525 B.C.

Completely preserved wood sarcophagus with the belonging falcon mummy dating to the 26th dynasty of Egypt. The lid of the sarcophagus in the shape of a falcon, which represents the god Horus. The falcon's head is painted beige and black, the eyes are round, the beak protrudes like a hook. Horus wears a tripartite wig with two lobes cascading over the shoulder. The body in mummiform, the feet sculpturally protruding. The coffin itself is hollowed out. Inside lies the mummy of a falcon wrapped in painted linen. The binding is in herringbone shape. The head of the mummy wears a white hood, which is decorated with black color and bitumen. The beak is also sculpturally protruding. An x-ray image depicts the intact skeleton of the bird with folded wings, imitating the shape of a human mummy. The right wing is broken, meaning the animal was deliberately mutilated and intended as a sacrificial offering. The coffin and lid are connected to each other by a plug-in system. With a belonging glass case, where the sarcophagus can be presented closed and standing. See for the type the falcon mummy in the Museum of Fine Arts Budapest with the inventory number 98.4-E.

Dimensions: 55 cm high

Provenance: Gallery Carrefour before 1988. With two original expertises by Pierre Verité of February 1988. Thence with the art dealer Giano Del Bufalo. Accompanied by a French antiquities passport.

Price: 28 000 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/holz-sarkophag-eines-falken-mit-zugehoriger-falkenmumie/

Aubergine-Colored Roman Glass Flask with Rib Decoration
2nd-3rd century A.D.

Magnificently shimmering, bulbous flask with a flattened base made of aubergine-colored glass. The shoulder is horizontal and slightly laces the long, cylindrical neck. This made it easier to precisely portion the once precious liquids. The rim is cut smoothly on top. For decoration, two rows of loosely arranged spikes are pulled out from the wall of the bulbous body. With beautiful iridescence. From the eastern Mediterranean region.
Roman Glass Oinochoe with Ribbed Corpus
Roman Spherical Flask

Dimensions: 14.4 cm high

Provenance: With Gallery Fischer auction, Lucerne, on 9 November 1964, number 183. There acquired by a Swiss collection. Thence auction 2 with Cahn in Basel on 26 June 2000. There acquired by the collection Camenisch, Frenkendorf, Switzerland. By descent to Alfred Fritsche, Bern, and last to his son Counsellor Gregor Fritsche, Vienna, Austria. With the original invoice by Jean-David Cahn.

Price: 2 000 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/auberginefarbene-romische-glasflasche-mit-zwickendekor/

Necklace with 69 Celtic Eye Beads
5th-4th century B.C.

Magnificent necklace with 69 eye beads, amongst them nine very rare double beads, as well as one yellow glass bead. The eye beads of yellow glass with applied blue “eyes”, which are framed in white and blue. For the making of these so-called layered eye beads different colored glass rods were fused, then cut in small pieces and pressed in a hot matrix. Finally, the ring beads were smoothed and polished. There are still scientific discussions about the place of manufacture. One approach is that these beads were imported objects, which were probably made in Greece or Levant. But it is also possible that the Celts were able to produce them themselves following the Phoenician model. Modern restrung with a modern clasp and ready to wear.

Dimensions: 48 cm long

Provenance: From a southern German private collection, by descent from the grandfather 30 years ago. Last in the German art market.

Price: 6 800 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/halskette-mit-69-keltischen-augenperlen/

Parthian Terracotta Vessel with Deer Head
Late 1st millennium B.C.

Large terracotta vessel of red-light clay with a corpus of two bulbous forms, with an estuary spout on top at the connecting point. The back semi-circular with a small stubby tail on top. The massive front corpus with a semi-spherical bulge on the chest. Towards the top a long, tapering neck which merges into a modelled deer head. The deer with raised, large ears, round, bulging eyes and a cylindrical snout with an engraved mouth. The vessel is in the tradition of the well-known Amlash rhytons, which are around 700 years older and came back in the Parthian period as zoomorphic vessels. See for the type the vessel in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with a deer- (Accession Number 60.611) and a rabbit head (Accession Number 1988.102.30) respectively. For the double spherical corpus also see the vessel with Christie’s with a horse head, auctioned on 13 June 2000 in New York, lot 503.

Dimensions: 21.2 cm high

Provenance: Swiss collection Hans Zellweger (1916-2000), acquired in the 1970s from Elie Borowski. Thence in a family estate.

Price: 1 800 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/parthisches-terrakotta-gefas-mit-rehkopf/

Egyptian Limestone Relief with a Seated God
New Kingdom, early 18th dynasty, around 1550-1480 B.C.

Left limestone fragment of a wall relief depicting a seated god on a throne, who puts his arms forward and holds attributes which today are not recognisable anymore. Opposite him probably offering bearers, possibly a pharaoh and his wife. The god wears a tripartite wig, with the side lobes cascading over the shoulders. Under the chin the long false beard is strapped. The throne with a rounded back rest stands on a pedestal. The depiction of the throne and the god suggest a date to the early 18th dynasty, perhaps under the reign of Ahmose (1550-1525) or Amenhotep I (1525-1504). See for the depiction of the throne the limestone relief of Ahmose and Montu in the British Museum with the Accession Number EA1708, as well as the relief with the seated god Amun in the Brooklyn Museum with the Accession Number 86.226.25. A similar depiction of a god with a tripartite wig is in the Barnes Foundation with the number A303. Mounted.

Dimensions: 28.1 cm high

Provenance: US private collection Donald Wonder (1938-2023), acquired prior to 1998. With a copy of an inventory list that names the relief under number 38.

Price: 8 000 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/kalksteinrelief-mit-sitzendem-gott/

Egyptian Swivel Ring with Lapis Lazuli Scarab
New Kingdom, 1550-1070 B.C.

Swivel ring made of one piece of gold wire with a semicircular band. Each end of the wire wraps around the opposite shoulder and forms at the same time the bezel for the lengthwise perforated, rotating scarab, made of lapis lazuli. It is flanked on the sides by two gold rings, which are intended to keep it in the centre when worn. The top of the scarab is naturalistically shaped with a clypeus (head shield) and an accentuated elytra (forewings). The bottom smooth. Ready to wear.

Dimensions: 2.8 grams; 2.2 cm x 1.9 cm (ring dimensions)

Provenance: From the collection of the British composer and musician Walter Thomas Gaze Cooper (1895-1981). Thence in a family estate.

Price: 1 400 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/drehring-mit-lapislazuli-skarabaus/

Sabaean Alabaster Head of a Woman with Necklace
2nd-1st century B.C.

Wonderfully preserved, stylized alabaster head of a woman from the Kingdom of Sheba. The face with finely hollowed out eyes, which once were painted, the nose long and in v-shape between high cheek bones. The mouth as a recess indicating a smile and with dimples on both sides. The hair is tied on both sides in long braids that cascade over the shoulders at the front, but leave the large, elongated ears visible. On the neck a four-layer jewellery. The head is at the back and on top only roughly hewn because it adorned a niche of a funerary stele. See for the early type the stylized southern Arabian niche heads with painted eyes “Jemen – Kunst und Archäologie im Land der Königin von Saba”, Wilfried Seipel (ed.), No. 316, page 344, as well as the female heads with long braids number 406, page 368. Mounted.

Dimensions: 19 cm high

Provenance: English private collection, auctioned with Christie's London on 16 May 1972, lot 86. There acquired by the gallery Charles Ede, London. Last in another English collection. With a copy of Christie's auction catalogue from 1972.

Price: 12 000 Euro

Fort all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/sabaischer-alabasterkopf-einer-frau-mit-halskette/

Egyptian Bronze Statuette of the Falcon-headed God Montu
Late period, ,26th-30th dynasty, 664-343 B.C.

Magnificent bronze statuette of Montu, the falcon-headed god from Thebes. The protector of arms and the god of war in a striding position with the left leg put forward. He wears a tripartite apron (“shendyt”), which is held by a finely decorated belt at the top. His neck is adorned by a multiple-row collar (“usekh”). Over the meticulously engraved, tripartite wig sits the high double crown with a central sun disk and a double uraeus up front. The deeply pierced eyes were once inlayed. Montu’s left arm hangs down, the hand formed to a fist. His right arm is bent and holds a crook with a falcon head with a feather crown, which grows from a papyrus stem. It is a rare attribute and underlines the importance of the god, whose popularity significantly increased again, especially in the Late period. Montu stands on his original plinth with encircling inscription on the outside. Readable are still the characters for “Lord of Thebes, that he may give him life…”. The statuette of excellent quality possibly served as an offering in one of the four Montu temples in the region of Thebes – Karnak, Armant, el-Tod or Medamud. See for the type the statuette in the British Museum with the museum number EA60339, as well as the one in the Louvre with the inventory number AF588. On an old, custom-made wood base.

Dimensions: 22.6 cm high

Provenance: Japanese private collection prior to 1980. Since 1980 in the Swiss collection A. A. L. in Geneva. Thence with Pierre Bergé auctions in Paris on 2 February 2017, lot 78.

Price: 24 000 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/bronze-statuette-des-falkenkopfigen-gottes-month/

Scythian Bronze Statuette of a Wolf
5th-4th century B.C.

Impressively worked out bronze statuette of a wolf which originates from the culture of the Scythian peoples of the steppe. The animal is hollow and stands on two splints, which were mounted on an object, possibly on a kettle, and served as a handle. The wolf stands straight and has the body muscles tense. His head is raised, the mouth threatening and the teeth snarly open. The large ears are vigilantly protruding. The back is slightly lowered, the tail protrudes down, its tip is raised. The statuette with its martial appearance is an impressive example for the famous animal depiction of the early peoples of the steppe. Published in: G. Ligabue, G. Rossi Osmida “Animali e Mito”, Trebaseleghe 2008, page 194, figure 1. As well as in: CentroStudi Ricerche Ligabue “Mongolia – Nelle steppe di Cinghis Khaan”, Venice 1992, page 182, figure 6. Inside of one splint the incorrect inscription “Han China” in white. On a custom-made base.

Dimensions: 12.8 cm long

Provenance: Brussel art market in 1968. Thence Rassla Foundation, Zurich, Switzerland, Dr. Giancarlo Ligabue (1931-2015).

Price: 8 000 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/skythische-bronze-statuette-eines-wolfes/

Life size Etruscan Terracotta Votive Torso of a Young Man
3rd-2nd century B.C.

Anatomically masterly formed, life size terracotta torso of a young man. The hollow body with fine muscles and bones is shaped to the arm- and leg set and served as a votive object to the gods. In the Etruscan religion anatomical objects such as the present one were left as offerings to thank the gods for healing certain ailments. The votive had the form of the affected body part. Arms and legs, ears, but also intestines or female organs, such as the uterus were modelled in clay, burnt and then offered in the temple. Torsos were either depicted in the ideal state – like the present example – or with a cut through the stomach that revealed the inner organs. See for our type the torso in the British Museum with the Registration Number 1834,1011.1. The object is self-standing.

Dimensions: 57 cm high

Provenance: From the New York collection William Froehlich, 1970s. Thence in the collection of Lewis Cullman, New York. In 1991 with Atlantis Antiquities in New York. From there sold to France. In 2012 with Pierre Bergé auctions on 22 November 2014, lot 225. Accompanied by a French antiquities passport.

Price: 22 000 Euro

For all details please see: https://www.cb-gallery.com/en/produkt/lebensgroser-etruskischer-terrakotta-votiv-torso-eines-jungen-mannes/

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