LOT 0221

Early Proto-Elamite Silver Horned Bull Pendant

3100-2900 B.C.

2 3/4 in. (54.5 grams, 70 mm wide).

Representing an exquisite bull figure standing with his head turned dramatically to the left, depicted with large curled horns and inlaid white stone eyes, formed from thin hammered silver sheet in repoussé, depicting the bull as a hollow pendant, with the interior filled with natural bitumen; traces of an original suspension loop on the shoulder.

with Mahboubian Gallery, New York, acquired prior to 1969.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13140-249434.

See Aruz, J. (ed), Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium BC from the Mediterranean to the Indus, New York, 2003, items 42, 249. 314; Mahboubian, H., Art of Ancient Iran, London, 1997, figs.1-2, pp.36.

Objects of this type are understood to be ritual or votive pendants, produced not for everyday wear but primarily for dedication in temple contexts. Bulls, goats, rams and other herd animals with horns were thematically abundant in the Ancient Near East, especially around the Iranian plateau circumscribed by the Zagros and Elbruz Mountains and multiple deserts. There are representations of bulls as pendants or votive statuettes (Mahboubian,1997, pp.59, 213, 224, 225, 225, 235, 240), vessel stands (Mahboubian, 1997, pp.40-41), vessel protomes and rhytons from Mesopotamia to Caucasus.