Ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, Old Assyrian Empire, ca. 2025 to 1378 BCE. An impressive, mold-made pottery relief of a standing male genius or apkallu - an ancient sage of Mesopotamian mythology - standing with legs together and arms bent at the elbows. The fascinating figure wears a rounded headdress and a fish-skin cloak - the traditional garment of the apkallu as they lived in a subterranean realm of fresh water called the apsu - as he holds both hands in fists and stacks 1 atop the other in front of his chest. He gazes out from almond-shaped eyes beneath an arched brow, as his stylized visage displays a bulbous nose and straight mouth enveloped in a neatly manicured beard. Mold-made clay relief figures of apkallu were believed to hold apotropaic powers and, in the Neo-Assyrian period, practitioners of magic had developed techniques for protecting interior spaces of buildings by means of a ritual that involved depositing an assemblage of these figurines beneath the room’s floor. Size: 1.5" W x 4.3" H (3.8 cm x 10.9 cm); 4.7" H (11.9 cm) on included custom stand.

Cf. the British Museum, museum number 91919.

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report is available to the buyer for $50.

Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#135541

Fragment of a larger piece. Expected nicks and abrasion, commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with impressive preservation of incised detail.