Lot 5 , An Ancient Assyrian fragment of a cuneiform alabaster slab, probably 9th century BC from Kouyunjik (Nineveh) and two clay cuneiform tab

An Ancient Assyrian fragment of a cuneiform alabaster slab, probably 9th century BC from Kouyunjik (Nineveh) and two clay cuneiform tablets, old collector's label verso inscribed '..an Assyrian royal proclamation probably of Assur-naisr-pal (9thc BC.) It commences With the help of Assur my Lord... to all the people, Probably from Ninive, sent to England by Captain Anthony Hormuzd Rassam', 10.3cm x 6.3cm, the two clay cuneiform tablets relating to law, bearing old labels inscribed in arabic which refer to a ruling on the accused to imprisonment for months and students being innocent of all that is attributed to them, each 3.5cm Provenance - A. T. Arber-Cooke
Estimate £300-500




Provenance - Alfred Theodore Arber-Cooke (c.1905-1993); thence by family descent. Arber-Cooke was an antiquarian and avid collector of Antiquities and Asian works of art, principally collecting from the 1930s to the 1970s. He initially lived in Wimbledon, Greater London and was involved with local archaeological digs undertaken by the Surrey Archaeological Society. He wrote the book 'Old Wimbledon', with a foreword the MP Sir Arthur Fell, published in 1927. He later moved to Llandovery in Carmarthenshire, Wales, again involved with local archaeology and wrote the History of Llandovery, published in 1975.

The inscription probably relates to Hormuzd Rassam (1826 -1910), an Iraqi-Assyrian Assyriologist who made a number of important archaeological discoveries from 1877 to 1882, including the clay tablets that contained the Epic of Gilgamesh, the world's oldest literature. He carried out spasmodic excavations at Nineveh (July-October 1849, April-May 1851, May-October 1851, October 1851-March 1852, October 1852-April 1854). Hormuzd Rassam began his own archaeological career as an assistant to Austen Henry Layard (q.v.) and went on to excavate himself at Nineveh (1878, 1879, 1880).

cf. similar fragments from an alabaster slab ascribed to Ashurnasirpal II in the British Museum accession no. K.8887.


Descriptions provided in both printed and on-line catalogue formats do not include condition reports. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Interested bidders are strongly encouraged to request a condition report on any lots upon which they intend to bid, prior to placing a bid. All transactions are governed by Gorringes Conditions of Sale.

Sold for £2,000