Sabaean Alabaster Bull

3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.

5 1/2 in. (1.14 kg, 14 cm wide).

Carved in the round with integral rectangular base; of sturdy build with thick shoulders, rump and legs; latticed hair texture to the brow.

Provenance

Mrs Janssens, Belgium, 1970s.
Private collection, London, UK.

Accompanied by a copy of an Art Loss Register certificate, no.S000119291.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12980-245246.

Footnotes

In Sabaean religion, the bull signalled strength, fertility, and divine protection, and is often linked by scholarship with the moon-god Almaqah, the principal deity of the kingdom. Small alabaster figures of this type were likely set up as temple offerings or served as fittings within cultic furnishings; flat undersides or discreet mounting points on some examples suggest attachment to a larger ensemble.

CONDITION

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LOT 0240