LOT 0221

Luristan Bronze Horse Bit Cheek-Pieces Modelled as Winged Gryphons

8TH–7TH CENTURY B.C.

4 1/8 - 4 1/4 in. (10 1/4 in.) (423 grams total, 10.4-10.7 cm (1.07 kg total, 26 cm wide including stand)).

Comprising a matched pair of cheek-pieces, each a winged gryphon standing on a baseline with head turned to face the viewer, curled tail to rump, lateral horns to the brow; pierced at the shoulder to accept the bit; mounted on a custom-made stand. [2]

A.P. family collection, Europe, from 1969, partly transferred to the United Kingdom in 1981.
London art market, after 2000.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12975-245210.

Cf. similar in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under accession no.32.161.24.

Horse equipment was an important symbol of status and power in the Iron Age Near East. Elaborate bits with decorated cheek-pieces were not only practical items for controlling horses but also served a display function, reflecting the wealth and rank of their owners. The sphinx, a creature combining human and animal features, was a common protective figure in the art of the period. Winged sphinxes, in particular, were associated with divine guardianship and the protection of rulers and warriors. The use of such imagery on horse gear underscored the prestige of cavalry and chariotry in the 8th–7th century BCE, when mounted warfare played a central role in the expansion of Near Eastern empires.