Clay tablet measuring 3.5x3x1.5 cm. Text in Cuneiform. From the middle of the Third Dynasty of the city-state of Ur, considered one of the more important periods of Mesopotamian history. This tablet is a receipt for 20 bundles of sheepskin hides intended for garment making. It is dated to the sixth month of the eighth year of Bur Sin, King of Ur (approx. 2054 BC). These tablets are the backbone of most modern knowledge about the economy of Sumer, and some of the earliest examples of handwriting. Provenance and Authenticity: Initially from the collection of Theophilus G. Pinches, L.L.D., eminent Assyriologist at the British Museum (last half of the nineteenth century). His notes mention that he received a group of tablets from Rassam, 1895. See: The (Lord) Amherst Tablets, 1908 for descriptions of some of these tablets. Tablets passed to Chappelow c. 1920s, a student and colleague of Pinches. Upon his death the tablets went to Sotheby's London for auction. The catalog was prepared by Dr. R.D. Barnett of the Dept. of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the British Museum and sold on July 28, 1958. Sold to Dr. Herman Serota of Chicago who sent them to the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago (1978) where they were transliterated by Dr. Piotr Steinkeller (of Yale). Additionally Dr. I.J. Gelb examined the tablets and provided some translations.
Clay tablet measuring 3.5x3x1.5 cm. Text in Cuneiform. From the middle of the Third Dynasty of the city-state of Ur, considered one of the more important periods of Mesopotamian history. This tablet is a receipt for 20 bundles of sheepskin hides intended for garment making. It is dated to the sixth month of the eighth year of Bur Sin, King of Ur (approx. 2054 BC). These tablets are the backbone of most modern knowledge about the economy of Sumer, and some of the earliest examples of handwriting. Provenance and Authenticity: Initially from the collection of Theophilus G. Pinches, L.L.D., eminent Assyriologist at the British Museum (last half of the nineteenth century). His notes mention that he received a group of tablets from Rassam, 1895. See: The (Lord) Amherst Tablets, 1908 for descriptions of some of these tablets. Tablets passed to Chappelow c. 1920s, a student and colleague of Pinches. Upon his death the tablets went to Sotheby's London for auction. The catalog was prepared by Dr. R.D. Barnett of the Dept. of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the British Museum and sold on July 28, 1958. Sold to Dr. Herman Serota of Chicago who sent them to the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago (1978) where they were transliterated by Dr. Piotr Steinkeller (of Yale). Additionally Dr. I.J. Gelb examined the tablets and provided some translations.
Try LotSearch and its premium features for 7 days - without any costs!
Be notified automatically about new items in upcoming auctions.
Create an alert
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
