Urartian Zebu Bull Bronze Sculpture

$1,579.64

A finely cast Urartian bronze sculpture of a Zebu bull, featuring a long cylindrical body that gradually tapers into a small, triangular-shaped head. The animal is portrayed in a standing stance, balancing its body weight across all four naturalistically depicted legs. Four small conical protuberances, further extend from its hooves, acting as the stands. Depicted on his back is a high hump, a typical characteristic of a Zebu bull along with his prominent horns. His facial features are incised with great care, including small, rounded eyes, drilled nostrils and a deeply grooved exaggerated mouth.

 

 

Date: Circa late 2nd-early 1st millennium BC
Provenance: From the SM deceased London/Israel Collection 1970-1999
Condition: Fine condition, complete and intact, with minor signs of ageing visible to the surface

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SKU: HL-257 Category: Tags: ,

Urartu was once known as a powerful kingdom, involved with numerous warfares with the Assyrian Empire in the first millennium B.C. It extended in the area between the Black sea and the Caspian sea, Approximately in the area occupied by today’s Armenia. Urartian bronze artworks are credited for their abstract yet aesthetic forms and realistic depictions on zoomorphic representations. Motifs of bulls were favoured by local artists, which possibly suggests that bulls were depicted as a conventional companion of the worshipped deities, symbolising power and divinity within traditional Urartian religious realm.

 

 

Weight 437.8 g
Dimensions L 13.2 x W 3.3 x H 7.3 cm
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