Ancient Near East, central Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), ca. late 2nd to early 1st millennium BCE. A cast-copper figurine of a bull standing atop a quartet of delineated legs and gently flared hooves. The slender body features a perky tail along the butt end and a slender neck projecting from between the shoulders. Puffy ovoid eyes, a narrow snout with flared nostrils and a thin mouth, and a pair of cupped ears comprise the stylized zoomorphic countenance, and surmounting the head is a grand pair of curved, crescent-shaped horns. Lustrous layers of brown and green patina have developed across the creature and imbue it with an attractive presentation evocative of the ancient Near East. Size: 4.375" L x 1.7" W x 3.6" H (11.1 cm x 4.3 cm x 9.1 cm)

Bucrania - bull heads - were incredibly popular images throughout the ancient world that celebrated the ritual religious practice of sacrificing bulls as well as the symbolism of the bull as a powerful, virile animal. In the eastern Mediterranean and the Levant, the bull was highly symbolic of the god of fertility from at least the 3rd millennium BCE, and bucrania appear on documents and models of sanctuaries.

Provenance: ex-private collection, acquired via descent from family; ex-William Barton collection, Memphis, Tennessee, acquired around 1950

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#157169

Repairs to right ear and areas of both horns, with resurfacing and light adhesive residue along break lines. Light encrustations within some recessed areas, with abrasions to legs, body, and head, and softening to some finer details particularly on face. Great patina and light earthen deposits throughout.