Sonia Halliday Photography is an Oxford based image library established in 1960. The library specialises in images of archaeology, ancient civilisations and antiquities world-wide. They focus on European stained-glass windows, as well as aerial coverage of historic holy land sites and collections documentation. This fine piece has been catalogued within this collection as well as other notable pieces such as The Seal of Hoshea (Circa 728 BC from the ancient Near East) and Clay Dish with Details of Moses Preaching (Circa 1000 BC from the ancient Near East) , along with the Collector himself.
Assyria was an ancient Mesopotamian civilisation consisting of a mixed group of Semitic peoples. The most common material for Mesopotamian artists to use was clay; it was used for pottery, monumental buildings and tablets used to record history and for administration purposes. As the Empire expanded across Mesopotamia and Middle East, art gained influences from different conquered civilisations, including Egypt, Babylonia, Israel and Cyprus
As Assyrian settlements grew larger, towns and cities greatly relied on sheep since they allowed for a more secure food source than hunting could produce. Amulets, figures and carvings show that the images of domestic animals were thought to have apotropaic functions. Depictions of animals were used to express fertility, divinity, and power, with temple equipment and vessels decorated with animals to be used in worship and sacrifice, Animal figurines such as this one may have been used as a votive offering, an object displayed in a sacred place for religious purposes, in order to gain favour with supernatural forces.
