ANCIENT ART: IRAN _ AMLASH
Selected works
Zebu
Iran _ Amlash
Gilan civilisation, 9th to 8th century BCE
Solid cast copper alloy
8.5 x 3.0 x 6.5 cm LWH
Intact, green patina
Acq. No. 110.061.0001
This small bronze animal depicts a zebu, indicated by the towering fat hump. Overall, the animal’s body is presented rather schematically. Its cylindrical shape is attached to four highly detailed legs. The raised arched hindquarters typical of animal bronzes from the Gilan Province, are especially striking. We also encounter this type of design in other depictions of deer and rams (see cat. no. 22, 25). The tail of the zebu is clearly shaped as well. The fat hump on the animal’s back slants back slightly. Like many similarly sized animal bronzes, a somewhat smaller loop is attached behind the hump. It characterises these animals as amulets that could be worn around one’s neck. The pointy-shaped head is executed in somewhat greater detail. The powerful horns are slanted slightly forward. The round eyes are depressed into the bronze and the mouth is slightly opened.
André Wiese, 2011
Literature
Paradeisos. Frühe Tierbilder aus Persien aus der Sammlung Elisabeth und Peter Suter-Dürsteler, exhibition catalogue Basel, Basel 1992, 69 no. 18. E.O. Negahban, Marlik. The Complete Excavation Report, The University Museum Monograph 87, 2 vols., Philadelphia PA 1996, 126–128 nos. 115–128 plates 42–48.