Western Asiatic Rock Crystal, Glass and Stone Bead Necklace String

Sheet gold ring with repoussé annulet and band of pellets, T-shaped suspension. 2.79 grams, 35 mm



Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12424-226930.

Squat in profile with basal disc, raised panel to the shoulder with lotus flower detailing, low neck and everted rim. 117 grams, 78 mm



London art market, 1980s-2000s. Private collection, London, UK.

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.