Western Asiatic Painted Terracotta Jug

A heavy example modelled in the round with slender, elongated trunk, thick neck and prominent horns, vestigial ears below; Anatolian workmanship. 1.32 kg, 19.2 cm



with Christie's, New York, 8 June 2001, no.363. Private collection, Europe. Accompanied by copies of the relevant Christie's catalogue pages. 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 a search certificate number no.12414-226675.

Bulls with raised horns have been found in central Anatolian royal burials. Among the sacred animals found in the royal graves of Alacahöyük, the bull and the deer are always present. This simplified figure of a young and spritely standing bull recalls the Baltimore bull and the other two examples in the Cleveland Museum of Art. Images of bulls were mounted on standards, used in battlefields or in religious processions, or as in the royal graves of Alacahöyük, they were used to decorate cult furniture or shrines.

Modelled as a standing nude figure wearing a tall conical helmet, arms pulled behind the back and forming two lugs. 76 grams, 93 mm



From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

Plano-convex in section with incised cuneiform inscription to the flat face. 6.8 grams, 13 mm



with Archaeologia, Switzerland, before 1983. Ex private North American collection. London private collection, 2016.