Central Asia, Indus Valley, Harappan/Mohenjo-Daro civilization, ca. late 3rd to early 2nd millennium BCE. A gorgeous pottery jar elaborately incised and hand-painted with a pair of massive zebu bulls with muscular bodies shown in profile below a horizontal register of stylized mouflons, each with sweeping horns nearly the size of their bodies. Trees with sizable palm branches separate the humped bulls with several linear and abstract motifs adorning the field. This ornately depicted zoomorphic and phytomorphic imagery perfectly exemplifies the crucial role of agriculture in the lives of the ancient residents of the Indus Valley! Size: 7.6" Diameter x 7.4" H (19.3 cm x 18.8 cm)

The Zebu is the domesticated form of the Asian auroch, who was replaced by the Zebu through selective breeding during the time of the Indus Valley civilization. Artistic representations of humped bulls occur throughout the area, and it has been theorized by the excavators of Harappa that they symbolize the "leader of the herd", powerful, strong, and virile. It seems likely that this fine ceramic was made in Baluchistan, the region of modern-day Pakistan that borders Iran and Afghanistan. Harappan artistic representations of both animals and humans are renowned for their technical achievements at an early date.

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full printed and bound report is available to the buyer upon request.

Provenance: private Ventura County, California, USA collection

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#175822

Professionally repaired and restored with plaster and repainting in areas. Chipping to rim and expected nicks and abrasions to surface as shown, all commensurate with age, but otherwise in overall great condition with nice preservation of painted detail. TL holes to base, exterior of rim, and shoulder.