**First Time At Auction**

Ancient Near East, Luristan, modern day Iran, ca. 1000 to 700 BCE. A bronze hollow tubular standard in the style of a "master of animals", a subhuman figure standing above the heads and necks of equally stylized, mythological-looking creatures.The figure's arms encircle the animals in what some have seen as an image of control. Below the animals are further stylized animals, including what are clearly ibexes. Many of these standards were removed from Luristan in the 1800s and early 1900s without proper archaeological excavation; only two have been scientifically excavated. As a result, their true function is unknown. Suggestions for their interpretation have ranged from the religious - depictions of deities, idols, talismans, etc. - to the utilitarian - parts of chariots or used in funerary rituals. Size: 3.75" W x 12.1" H (9.5 cm x 30.7 cm); 12.8" H (32.5 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#136183

Dark patina with slight encrustation on the surface. The item is composed of three pieces which are fused together but still have some movement.