Lot 101
Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, Old Babylonian Period, reign of Rim-Sin I, ca. 1822 to 1763 BCE. A large, hand-built clay tablet, rectangular in form with rounded sides and planar top and bottom faces, containing a letter from a person named "Atanah-ili" to another individual. The letter contains twenty-six lines of cuneiform text, formed by impressing a sharpened reed or wooden stick into the still-wet clay prior to the kiln-firing process. The tops and bottoms of the letter do not contain any text, and there is a small blank area near the bottom of the document. Cuneiform was generally a pictographic style of writing in its infancy, though it became a more abstract style of letter-based script around the 3rd millennium BCE. Lucite display stand for photography purposes only. Size: 1.875" W x 4.6" H (4.8 cm x 11.7 cm).
While the name of the individual has been identified as Atanah-ili, the subject matter and remainder of the letter has not been translated. However, we know Atanah-ili to have been an individual of purported significance. Babylonian scholar and writer W. F. Leemans describes how Atanah-ili was, through multiple documents, "an individual repeatedly mentioned in the archives of Istar-ili and Idin-Amurrum
" ("The Old-Babylonian Merchant: His Business and His Social Position." Studia Et Documenta, Vol. III, E. J. Brill, Leiden, Holland, 1950, p. 57).
Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010
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Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
#132506
- Condition: Repaired from multiple pieces with some small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age, small chips to top, bottom, and both sides, and light fading to some impressed letters. Light earthen deposits within recessed areas.
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