21st Nov, 2025 13:00
Fine Antiquities & Ancient Art
28
A BACTRIAN BANDED ALABASTER TURTLE, OXUS CIVILIZATION, CIRCA 2ND MILLENNIUM BC
Sold for €4,940
including Buyer's Premium
Finely carved to depict a turtle standing foursquare on its short stubby limbs, its minuscule head detailed with gently protruding eyes, protracting from a polished carapace which is enhanced by the bands inherent to the material.
The stone is of a fine ivory tone with faint white and ochre veining. It exhibits a naturally developed patina that imparts a subtly unctuous surface, resulting from prolonged handling and wear within its original cultural context.
Provenance: Acquired from a private estate in the region of Verviers, Belgium.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Expected old wear, signs of weathering and erosion, few minor losses, scattered nicks, nibbling to edges, some of which have smoothened over time, surface scratches, natural fissures.
Weight: 59.2 g
Dimensions: Length 5.6 cm
The Oxus Civilization or Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (short BMAC), recently dated to c. 2250-1700 BC, is the modern archaeological designation for a Bronze Age civilization of Central Asia, previously dated to c. 2400-1900 BC, by Sandro Salvatori, in its urban phase or Integration Era. Though it may be called the "Oxus civilization", apparently centered on the upper Amu Darya (Oxus River) in Bactria, most of the BMAC's urban sites are actually located in Margiana (modern Turkmenistan) on the Murghab river delta and the Kopet Dagh mountain range. There are a few later (c. 1950–1450 BC) sites in northern Bactria, currently known as southern Uzbekistan, but they are mostly graveyards belonging to the BMAC-related Sapalli culture. A single BMAC site, known as Dashli, lies in southern Bactria, the current territory of northern Afghanistan. Sites found further east, in southwestern Tajikistan, though contemporary with the main BMAC sites in Margiana, are only graveyards, with no urban developments associated with them. BMAC sites were discovered and named by the Soviet archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi when he was excavating in northern Afghanistan between 1969 and 1979. Sarianidi's excavations from the late 1970s onward revealed numerous monumental structures in many sites, fortified by impressive walls and gates. Reports on the BMAC were mostly confined to Soviet journals. A journalist from The New York Times wrote in 2001 that during the years of the Soviet Union, the findings were largely unknown to the West until Sarianidi's work began to be translated in the 1990s.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 6 December 2007, lot 64
Price: USD 7,500 or approx. EUR 9,900 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Bactrian alabaster seated monkey, circa 2nd millennium BC
Expert remark: Note the larger size (20 cm).
Finely carved to depict a turtle standing foursquare on its short stubby limbs, its minuscule head detailed with gently protruding eyes, protracting from a polished carapace which is enhanced by the bands inherent to the material.
The stone is of a fine ivory tone with faint white and ochre veining. It exhibits a naturally developed patina that imparts a subtly unctuous surface, resulting from prolonged handling and wear within its original cultural context.
Provenance: Acquired from a private estate in the region of Verviers, Belgium.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Expected old wear, signs of weathering and erosion, few minor losses, scattered nicks, nibbling to edges, some of which have smoothened over time, surface scratches, natural fissures.
Weight: 59.2 g
Dimensions: Length 5.6 cm
The Oxus Civilization or Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (short BMAC), recently dated to c. 2250-1700 BC, is the modern archaeological designation for a Bronze Age civilization of Central Asia, previously dated to c. 2400-1900 BC, by Sandro Salvatori, in its urban phase or Integration Era. Though it may be called the "Oxus civilization", apparently centered on the upper Amu Darya (Oxus River) in Bactria, most of the BMAC's urban sites are actually located in Margiana (modern Turkmenistan) on the Murghab river delta and the Kopet Dagh mountain range. There are a few later (c. 1950–1450 BC) sites in northern Bactria, currently known as southern Uzbekistan, but they are mostly graveyards belonging to the BMAC-related Sapalli culture. A single BMAC site, known as Dashli, lies in southern Bactria, the current territory of northern Afghanistan. Sites found further east, in southwestern Tajikistan, though contemporary with the main BMAC sites in Margiana, are only graveyards, with no urban developments associated with them. BMAC sites were discovered and named by the Soviet archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi when he was excavating in northern Afghanistan between 1969 and 1979. Sarianidi's excavations from the late 1970s onward revealed numerous monumental structures in many sites, fortified by impressive walls and gates. Reports on the BMAC were mostly confined to Soviet journals. A journalist from The New York Times wrote in 2001 that during the years of the Soviet Union, the findings were largely unknown to the West until Sarianidi's work began to be translated in the 1990s.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 6 December 2007, lot 64
Price: USD 7,500 or approx. EUR 9,900 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Bactrian alabaster seated monkey, circa 2nd millennium BC
Expert remark: Note the larger size (20 cm).
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