ARAB-SASANIAN: ca. 680s-750s, glass vessel stamp (16.09g), cf. Balog-2, peacock-like bird standing left, with fan-shape tail, holding an undulating tendril in its beak, gray-brown almost opaque, just a minor touch of devitrification, but nicer than most pieces we have seen, VF to EF, RRR. A similar piece, but with the bird standing right, sold in our Auction 36, Lot 208. Balog qualified this type as either very late Sasanian or early Islamic. The peacock-like bird is sometimes regarded as the senmurg, the fabled bird of ancient Iranian mythology. The more traditional image of the senmurg appears on a copper pashiz of Ardashir-Khurra (Gyselen-2, A-41). Another similar vessel stamp, but with the added Arabic phrase "amara Allah" was sold in our Auction 18, Lot 151.
Estimate: $300-400