Central Asia, Indus Valley, Harappan / Mohenjo-Daro civilization, ca. 2700 to 2000 BCE. An extremely rare depiction of two hand-built pottery bulls standing abreast. Each animal is shown with fused front and back legs, muscular bodies, nubbin tails, and large humps on the napes of their necks. The abstract zoomorphic heads are comprised of curving horns, pinched snouts, and target eyes in applied black pigment. Each body is similarly detailed with black pigmentation in a series of parallel vertical bands and a central horizontal band that runs down both of their backs. It is thought that most bulls in Harappan society - as well as representative effigies - were ceremonially 'killed' before entering the ground in either votive or funerary contexts. Bulls were symbolically-significant animals in this civilization's iconography, and were revered for their great spiritual purpose. Size: 2.125" L x 1.5" W x 1.875" H (5.4 cm x 3.8 cm x 4.8 cm)

Provenance: private Southern California collection, USA, bestowed 2006; ex-J. Malter collection, Los Angeles, California, USA, acquired before 2006

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#161108

Repaired from several pieces and restored with new material in some small areas. Otherwise, very nice with excellent pigments.