Ancient Bactrian Stone Aniconic Weight

Ancient Central Asia, Bactria, ca. 3rd to 2nd millennium BCE. A sizable weight that is carved from a pale gray stone with white inclusions bearing an egg-shaped body with a flat base, sloped walls, and biconically drilled suspension holes at an angle through the top. The holes meet in the middle of the interior in a narrow opening through which one can touch two fingers together if one finger is in each drilled hole. Though aniconic objects like this example were used as large-scale weights or counterweights, scholars posit that they could have also taken on ritual or funerary contexts. Size: 7.8" W x 8.9" H (19.8 cm x 22.6 cm)

Provenance: private Ventura County, California, USA collection; ex-Arte Primitivo Gallery, New York, New York, USA

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#157551
Condition Report: Repaired from a few large pieces, with some in-fill material along some of base and lower body, and resurfacing with overpainting along new material and break lines. Nicks and abrasions to base, body, and suspension cavities, with large chip atop one suspension hole, and very light encrustations. Nice smooth surfaces throughout.