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Mesopotamian cylinder seal / circa 1800 BC Mesopotamian votive `nail' with the name of Gudea / circa 2135 BC Syrian female figure / circa 1850 BC Luristan terminal / circa 800 BC Syrian libation spoon / circa 800 BC Luristan terminal Iron Age, circa 800 BC Bronze Height: 10.1 cm This Luristan bronze `standard finial'(left), of a type seen with increasing frequency on the European art market since the 1920s, takes the form of two highly stylised wildcats arranged belly to belly. Originally excavated in the cemeteries of western Iran in the mountainous Zagros region, it eventually found a home on Freud's desk as one of his most favoured pieces. Seventy years later, relatively little is known about the archaeology of the area or the people who produced the bronzes.

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