LOT 0333

Mesopotamian Copper Double Rein Guide for a Chariot

CIRCA MID 3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.

11 1/4 in. (603 grams, 28.5 cm).

In the form of an advancing stallion on a plinth, holding its head high and gazing to the right; short standing mane with incised detailing, and a long tail extending to the plinth; recessed eyes, likely once inlaid, drilled nostrils and open mouth; the plinth joined at a right angle to two connected rings atop three parallel rods, the rods joined at the bottom to an arching bar with side lugs.

Acquired from Toufic Arakji, Hamburg, Germany, 14 January 1997.
with Mahboubian Gallery, London, UK.
Property of a London gentleman.

Accompanied by an academic 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 a search certificate number no.12160-218627.

See a similar terret ring in Muscarella, O.W.,Bronze and Iron, ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, no.466; Basmachi, F., Treasures of Iraq Museum, Baghdad, 1976, pl.90; for a similar terret in silver and electrum at the British Museum, from Ur, see Crouwel, J.H., ’Wheeled Vehicles and their Draught Animals in the Ancient Near East – an Update’ in Raulwing, P., Linduff, K.M., Crouwel, J.H., Equids and Wheeled Vehicles in the Ancient World, Oxford, 2019, pp.29-48, fig.6; for the mounting on chariots and carts see Stillmann, N., Tallis, N., Armies of the Ancient Near East, 3000 BC to 539 BC, Worthing, 1984, pp.119-121, figs.56-58.

This magnificent chariot fitting was cast in one piece, probably made in arsenical copper in Mesopotamia in the Early Dynastic Period (ED). The reins were connected to the head harness and then passed through the rein ring, that was connected to a yoke pole. The purpose of the rein ring was to prevent the multiple reins snarling and also added an element of control for the driver. The lower concave bar was tied onto the pole by rope or leather, while the hooks served to secure the ends. These rein rings were not only practical instruments, but also ornamental elements of royal vehicles. A well-known example of this type is a terret crowned by an equid figure that was associated with Pu-abi’s sledge in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, today at the British Museum, inv.121438.