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LOT 1754
Western Asiatic Bronze Bull Rider
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
2 in. (84 grams, 51 mm high).
Showing a man on a standing bull, grabbing the hair of a captive with his right hand.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Ornan, T., ‘The bull and its two masters: Moon and Storm deities in relation to the bull in ancient Near Eastern Art (the phenomenon of shared identical emblematic imagery in Levantine iconography)’ in Israel Exploration Journal, 51 (1), pp.1-26, figs.12-14, for divinities mounting a bull.
FootnotesThe statuette can represent the god storm Hazor, a storm deity with lunar traits. The association between a bull and storm deities is well known on Anatolian sealings from 20th-19th century B.C. The portrayal of a god standing on a bull in conjunction with lunar symbols derived from Old Babylonian cult, where the bull was connected with the Moon as a goddess, and continued in the Near East in association with the god Hazor, identified with El, head of the Canaanite pantheon.
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LOT 1754
Western Asiatic Bronze Bull Rider
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
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Trans-Jordan Terracotta Jar
Early Bronze Age, 3200-1950 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Bulbous body with short neck and everted rim. 115 grams, 81 mm
Acquired from Vanessa Purcell & Company, Manchester, UK, in 1994. From the collection of Mr & Mrs J.G.W. Lee, late Herefordshire collectors, their collection having been established from the 1990s. Accompanied by the original sales receipt and certificate of authenticity. -
Western Asiatic Cone-Shaped Stamp Seal
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Conical in section with suspension hole and pointillé texture; underside with stylised human figure. 7.32 grams, 37.26 mm
From the private collection of a European gentleman (1942-2024), formed since the 1970s. -
Achaemenid Silver Dish
Circa 500-400 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Shallow with thickened rim; encrustations to the outer face. 396 grams, 21 cm wide
Acquired early 1990s. Ex private American collection; thence by descent. Private Swiss collection since 1998. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11631-199032.