274 - South Arabian Bronze Bowl Featuring a Hunting Scene and Inscription. Southwestern Arabia, Kingdom of Ma in, circa 3rd century B.C.-2nd century A.D. Broad and squat with impressed guilloche below the inner rim, repouss frieze with fleeing ibex attacked by a gryphon and kneeling archer to the rear; central rosette; seven incised characters to inner face and four to outer face. Cf. Overlaet, B. & Yule, P., A late pre-Islamic bowl with Levantine-inspired decoration from ed-Dur (UAE) in Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, vol.29, no.2, 2018, especially figs.2-3,7. 277 grams, 15.5 cm (6 1/8 in.). [A video of this lot is available to view on TimeLine Auctions Website]

South Arabian Bronze Bowl Featuring a Hunting Scene and Inscription. Southwestern Arabia, Kingdom of Ma in, circa 3rd century B.C.-2nd century A.D. Broad and squat with impressed guilloche below the inner rim, repouss frieze with fleeing ibex attacked by a gryphon and kneeling archer to the rear; central rosette; seven incised characters to inner face and four to outer face. Cf. Overlaet, B. & Yule, P., A late pre-Islamic bowl with Levantine-inspired decoration from ed-Dur (UAE) in Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, vol.29, no.2, 2018, especially figs.2-3,7. 277 grams, 15.5 cm (6 1/8 in.). [A video of this lot is available to view on TimeLine Auctions Website] Saleh family collection, Germany, formed prior to 1972. Private collection, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12809-241324. The presence of decorated bronze bowls during the later Pre-Islamic period, mainly in the territories of the modern Emirates, is well documented. Many decorated bowls and bowl fragments were discovered at Mleiha; one or more possible fragments were found at ed-Dur, and a single bowl comes from a Pre-Islamic period C tomb in Dibba. They are also similar to the so-called Phoenician - or, more correctly, Levantine - bowls produced in the 9th-early 7th century B.C. They combine local Levantine elements with imagery borrowed from Mesopotamia and Egypt, and local Arabian themes, such as camel and horse riding, often composed in radial zones. TimeLine Auctions follows a rigorous vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists. See our website for more information.