Isin Foundation Cone on EBay and its Background

"Ishme-Dagan, the strong warrior, 

the king of Isin, the king of the four 

quarters of the world, when he, Nippur,

 beloved city of Enlil, completely built, 

his troops in military service working around Isin, 

built these walls: Ishme-Dagan thanks Enlil 

and (rules) with the strength of his name."

"Ishme-Dagan, mighty man,  King of Isin,
King of the Four Quarters (of the world) when 
 he exempted the tax of Nippur, the city beloved
by Enlil and took its populace away from forced labor,
 he built the wall of Isin, naming it "Ishme-Dagan,
with Enlil, the might of the great god"

Ishme-Dagan, mighty man, king of Isin,
 king of the four quarters (of the world), when he cancelled
the tribute obligations of Nippur, the city beloved by Enlil,
and excused its men from military service,
he built the great wall of Isin. The name of that wall is 
"By the grace of Enlil Ishme-Dagan is powerful".

Note the different renderings of what is the same inscription on dealers' sites.

Here's a bold one. Seller 'Hotan' from Aliso Viejo, California, United States is offering you, just a mouse click away a 'Translated and Authenticated Sumerian Cunieform (sic) Foundation Cone, 1953 BC W/ Paperwk'. Price: US $1,250.00 Buy It Now [ Shipping: $55.13 International Priority Shipping via the Global Shipping Program]

A very rare authenticated and translated Sumerian Clay Cuneiform Foundation Cone for the King of Isin, 1953 BC, commemorative, foundation cone of fired clay with dedication Sumerian text for the ruler Ishme-Dagan , ruler of the state of Isin (modern Ishan al-Bahriyat, Al-Qādisiyyah Governate, Iraq) a city of lower Mesopotamia. The inscription records the construction of the Great Wall of Isin, in honour of Enlil, the city god, after exempting the citizens from paying the taxes of Nippur and renaming the city for himself. The translation will be provided to the buyer. Comes with professional translation as well as high end gallery authentication paperwork. I personally bought this over a decade ago from an auction house owners personal collection, then sent it off for translation from a professional and then had it authenticated by one of the most high end and respected galleries who deals in Egyptian and middle eastern antiquities. I’ve taken pictures with flash and without so you can best judge by yourself but as stated by the experts on the COA the condition is listed as intact and in excellent condition overall with beautifully cut text. All information will be provided to buyer. Shipped with USPS Priority Mail.

'sent it off for translation from a professional', name?

'authenticated by one of the most high end and respected galleries' name?

Without those names, those adjectives and implied assurances are utterly meaningless.

So this "paperwork" is actually just a common or garden (anonymous) gallery COA - Code of Authenticity. The latter are two-a-penny and mostly totally worthless. So the collecting history goes back to "an [unnamed] auction house owner[']s personal collection", yeah? And there's no sales documentation mentioned. And how did it leave Iraq?

Isin being looted 

Isin is of course one of the sites in southern Iraq being heavily looted in the 1990s and then again in and after the US-led invasion in 2003. Both of these looting events and the accompanying smuggling happened 'more than a decade ago'.

But this item is part of a pattern.

Here, from Washinton DC's 'Sands of Time Ancient Art' (September 21, 2019) is another Ishme-Dagan cone from Isin with a similar cuneiform text (A Sumerian Foundation cone for Ishme-Dagan, King of Isin, circa 1953 BCE) and could-not-care-less collecting history "Provenance: M. G. private collection, Maryland, acquired from the NY trade in 2001" (contd).



There's another one from the 2010 Bonhams 'Gentleman's (sic) Library' sale: 'Clay Foundation Cone with StandBabylonia, Isin Dynasty (Ishme, Dagan of Isin, South Iraq), 1950 B.C. Exhibiting cuneiform script, a pictographic writing, incised by a reed stylus (sic - hmmm). 5 in. (12.7 cm.) height Offered on a custom-made metal stand' With a stand, no less, but no collecting history better than "Accompanied by a collection label from "The Earth's Memory LLC", a French gallery that had previously retailed the piece". When is not stated, nor how they got it. The company is run by meteorite enthusiasts Bruno Fectay and Carine Bidaut, website here www.meteorite.fr, and they sell space rocks and produce some odd merchandise. But how they sold Iraqi artefacts is unclear. Anyway, Bonhams could not shift it using the 'gentleman' tale, so they tried the 'natural history' one in a May 2011 sale.

A French seller, François Tajan, has a Clou de Fondation, Mésopotamie, Iere Dynastie d'Isin, 1953-1935 AV.J.C., sold for 2,860 € 7 nov. 2017. The collecting history? "Provenance: Certificat Galerie l'Etoile d'Ishtar, 8 janvier 1999 Collection R.B et G.B.". hmm. 

Artefacts surfacing on
market come from here

Then we have this item being sold by Artemis Gallery  a seller in Louisville USA through some website called Lot-Art  'Lot 0092A Published Old Mesopotamian Cuneiform Foundation Cone', 20th Jun 2018. Bab Darge does not even offer any kind of cover story where and when it surfaced, except 'Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection'. It was 'Published in "Beloved by Time: Four Millennia of Ancient Art." Fortuna Fine Art, Ltd., New York, 2000, p. 19, fig. 29'. That is not a publication that in any way would justify a lack of paperwork.

Artemis Gallery had another one for sale Mar 21, 2019 through BidSquare (together with a Gudea one this time). Lot of 2 Translated Sumerian Clay Foundation Cones, Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection... (reference is made to the publication of 'similar examples' in "Beloved by Time: Four Millennia of Ancient Art"). 

Artemis Gallery seems to have an uncanny ability to source old collections that have cones of the same ruler ... Here's yet another one Translated Sumerian Cuneiform Cone Tablet - UR [sic] sold for an undisclosed price Jun 13, 2013 (" Conical clay tablet with cuneiform inscription around front of tablet [sic]. Inscription continues on top of cone, which is very rare for cone tablets [sic]"). No information where it came from, how and when: " Provenance: Ex-F. Zollman Collection, MD". This one seems to have come from a (unidentified) site called Naznannum(?). 

A further example is seen on the LiveAuctioneers website '80: Sumerian foundation cone, king Ishme-Dagan', Estimate $1,200 - $1,500 Nov 15, 2009 sold by 'Ancient Resource Auctions'. Collecting history? "A lovely example! Ex. [sic] Royal Athena Gallery, New York".

Then there is this one, currently being offered by Howard Nowes Ancient Art (Art for Eternity) for $1,750 13632. Sumerian Cuneiform Foundation Cone Mesopotamia, 1st Dynasty of Isin, ca. 1953-1935 BC with cuneiform inscriptions from the reign of Ishme-Dagan'("somewhat like a time capsule. 12 columns of beautifully cut [sic] text"). Collecting history is just 'Ex NY private Collecton [sic - he can't even write it properly]'. He tells us he copied the translation from that by 'A.R. George in Bibliotheca Orientalis 53 (1996): 366, and Cuneiform Royal Inscriptions and Related Texts in the Schoyen Collection, (2011): 91 no. 39'. 

On a US coiney auction site there is another one, 'Terra cotta cone of King Ishme-Dagan. First Dynasty of Isin, ca. 1953-1935' Numisbids sold by the Classical Numismatic Group, LLC 23 March 2016 for 2750 USD. "From the Dr. Stephen Gerson Collection, purchased in London, 1991". 

Another one was sold at some time by ACDAEA member Hixenbaugh Ancient Art gallery (see Tammy Donna on Pininterest) "Sumerian cuneiform clay foundation cone of Ishme-Dagan, fourth king in the First Dynasty of Isin, in which the ruler dedicates the building the city walls of Isin. Private collection, from Hixenbaugh Ancient Art gallery". Here is where the item was on the Hixenbaugh website before it was removed. 

Probably there are many more, and others no longer visible on the web, but it seems clear that (although these cones were first found in the 1930s), there is not a single one on the market that has a stated, let alone documented collecting history going back much before 1999/2000/2001. This would seem to be when a batch of them surfaced on the market and has been dispersed through the interantional antiquities market. In that case (and given the legal situation in Iraq) I leave it for the reader to decide how they would see all the dealers here that seem to have handled these items in the past few years. Including the ADCAEA's Sands of Time, Hixenbaugh, Ancient Resources and Art for Eternity.