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Lot Essay
This exquisite gold pendant is solid cast and is distinguished by its fine and detailed workmanship. The bull was considered the embodiment of strength and fertility and was a popular motif in Mesopotamian art. The eyes and triangular-shaped indentation on the forehead would have once been inlaid. Although the significance of the now-missing triangular inlay on the forehead is unknown, it emphasises the numinous character of the bull and most likely had a particular meaning beyond its use as a decorative element.
The very high quality workmanship suggests that this pendant may have been commissioned or owned by a royal patron. For a similar bull in copper-alloy, cf. acc. no. VA 3142 in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum and for a bull fitting with a triangular inlay on the forehead, see no. 95 in Aruz, ed., Art of the First Cities, The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus.
The very high quality workmanship suggests that this pendant may have been commissioned or owned by a royal patron. For a similar bull in copper-alloy, cf. acc. no. VA 3142 in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum and for a bull fitting with a triangular inlay on the forehead, see no. 95 in Aruz, ed., Art of the First Cities, The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus.