Syro-Hittite Bull and Rider

Culture: Levant

Period: 1st half 2nd millennium B.C.

Material: Clay

Dimensions: 12 cm x 8.5 cm

Price: Sold

Ref: 6235

Provenance: Private collection Dr. J. B., Vienna. Acquired on 15 March 1999 at Dorotheum Vienna, lot 153.

Condition: Intact

Description: Handmade clay figure depicting a bird-headed rider sitting on a bull and grabbing its horns. The rider with large circular eyes, opulent, finely pierced neck jewellery and large hands, holding with three fingers the bull’s horns. The body of the rider merges into the neck of the animal. The bull with a short snout, deeply pierced eyes and a headdress decorated with fine perforations. The neck is long and cylindrical, the body with short legs and a raised stumpy tail. See for this rare depiction of a bull and rider the object in the Brooklyn Museum, Accession Number 1996.146.7.