A BANDED AGATE DUCK WEIGHT OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY, BABYLONIAN 2ND MILLENIUM BC

Reference: ART4001900

A banded agate weight in the form of a sleeping duck.

During the Babylonian period the sleeping duck motif was widely used in art. The representation was often used when making weights with stone, often of haematite but in some cases, such as this, of beautifully decorative stones. The choice of a rich, dark banded agate or sardonyx would have added to the realism of the subject.

28 mm. Dark banded agate or sardonyx. Babylonia c 1700 B.C.

PROVENANCE
Ex-European private collection acquired before 1970