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Near Eastern Art :
Iron Age : Iron Age Bronze Sculpture of a Bull Head
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Iron Age Bronze Sculpture of a Bull Head - FZ.350
Origin: Anatolia
Circa: 700
BC
to 500
BC
Dimensions:
3" (7.6cm) high
x 2" (5.1cm) wide
Collection: Near Eastern
Medium: Bronze
£6,000.00
Location: UAE
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| Description |
Early Greek religion centered on the veneration
of natural objects such as rocks, trees and
animals. There is no unequivocal evidence of a
bull-cult or bull-god in Greece or Crete.
However, the bull image as depicted in art from
these regions strongly suggests a profound
reverence for this powerful animal. The bull's
strength, agility and courage made it a perfect
symbol for eternity and fertility, especially the
horns with their phallic connotation. This
remarkable bull's head beautifully captures these
qualities that have been so long admired in a
beast that is both wild and domestic, but never
tamed. Its head and neck form a solid mass,
delicately modeled in the fine curves of the eyes,
sloping nose, fully extended ears and broad
expanse of the horns. The ribbed vertical rod
from the neck indicates the head was attached to
something, perhaps a scepter, as in examples
from the Near East. The dual horizontal
extensions are suggestive of a utilitarian rather
than a decorative use. Though this bull's head
can fit in the palm of the hand, it holds within
itself the cult mystery and sheer physical power
of the Iron Age.
- (FZ.350)
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