CIRCA 1500 B.C.

Details

A MESOPOTAMIAN AGATE DUCK WEIGHT
CIRCA 1500 B.C.
1 3/8 in. (3.4 cm.) long; 18.1 grams.

Provenance

Leo Mildenberg (1913-2001) collection, Zurich, acquired prior to 1981.
A Peaceable Kingdom: The Leo Mildenberg Collection of Ancient Animals; Christie's, London, 26-27 October 2004, lot 164.

Exhibited

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection, 21 October-29 November 1981.

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Laetitia Delaloye

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Lot Essay

PUBLISHED:
A. P. Kozloff, ed., Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection, Cleveland, 1981, no. 12bis.
This charming duck is shown resting its head and ridged bill along its back; a popular visual form for weights in the Middle East. Similar duck weights have been found at Nineveh and Susa, with many dated to the 3rd or 2nd millennium B.C. In the present agate, the natural, flecked inclusions are skilfully utilised by the sculptor to depict the bird's down. The weight is the equivalent of one-shekel at Nineveh, or two-shekels in Babylon.

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