IMPORTANT! Due to strict custom regulations regarding cultural heritage goods we don't ship outside the E.U. Please make sure you have an EU shipping address before bidding. - Tiamat, in ancient Mesopotamian mythology, the primordial goddess who was the personification of the salt sea and the mother of the gods. She also was associated with the chaos of creation. Tiamat and Apsu (also spelled Abzu), the personification of the fresh water beneath the earth, are the source of a family of gods with whom she eventually went to war. She was slain by Marduk, the chief god of the city of Babylon, and from her body he created the universe. In later myths, Tiamat was sometimes portrayed as a serpent or dragon, and these images have inspired creatures in modern popular culture, notably in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tiamat Registered shipping. Provenance/Known History: Private Collection, London, UK, acquired since the 1980s. After that A.A. Gallery, UK. Important information: - A declaration of authenticity by my shop is provided with this lot. - At Catawiki we have a strict code of ethics regarding archaeological lots. That is why we request provenance documentation for all archaeological lots available in auctions. Our experts have seen the provenance document(s) for this specific lot. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to publish all of these documents / show names due to the constraints imposed by data protection laws (GDPR).