Sold
Ancient Near East, Anatolia, ca. 2nd to 1st millennium BCE. A very rare copper bull figure cast via the lost wax (cire perdue) process. The bull presents a substantial body standing with all fours on an integral plinth and his tail falling between his posterior legs. A naturalistic dewlap hangs in front of his stocky neck. He faces forward with a triangular head, a short rounded muzzle, an incised mouth, large almond-shaped eyes with recessed that suggest former inlays, pointed ears that flare out at the sides, and a prominent pair of curved horns. Intentionally pierced vertically through shoulders and chest between forelegs as well as through the base below. Incisions indicate his knees, and a long tail hangs down in back, and a delineated penis is visible on the underside. A rare example with a gorgeous green patina that has developed over the ages! Size: 4.875″ L x 4″ H (12.4 cm x 10.2 cm); 4.75″ H (12.1 cm) on included custom stand.
This piece was published in Boisgirard & Associates; Archeologie Arts de L’Islam (Paris, Hotel Drouot, IV 28/2005), no. 63.
Condition: Losses to tips of horns. Surface shows age wear with encrustation and stress fissures on the legs. Remarkable green patina. Surface wear to areas such as the eyes as shown – perhaps these were recesses for former inlays. Former collection label on the base. Intentionally pierced vertically through shoulders and chest between forelegs as well as through the base below. Bright green crystalline patina.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection, acquired in a French auction in 2005; published in Boisgirard & Associates Archeologie Arts de L’Islam (Paris, Hotel Drouot, 11/28/2005), no. 63; ex-Mazard Family Collection, France, 1980’s
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all purchases.
We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
