WESTERN ASIATIC LURISTAN MASTER OF ANIMALS SCEPTRE FINIAL 13th-7th century BC A bifacial bronze sceptre finial formed as a waisted tube with flared collars, and another with three facing masks, two lateral opposed beasts; mounted on a custom-made stand. 566 grams, 43cm including stand (17"). Very fine condition. Provenance Private collection, acquired by descent 1970s. Literature Cf. Legrain, L. Luristan Bronzes in the University Museum, Pennsylvania, 1934, item 2. Footnotes The sceptres, or so called "standards," epitomise bronzes from Luristan. They are characterised by a high degree of stylisation and conservative iconographical traditions. The major theme on them is that of a male or female figure grasping snarling beasts; subsidiary motifs, especially animal heads, are often appended. The central image of the Master/Mistress of the Beasts has a lengthy Mesopotamian and Elamite history, as well as appearing in Bronze Age Greece. The sceptres seem to have acted as insignia of authority for the elite and one example found in a tomb at Tattulban, Iran, lay next to the head of a male warrior equipped with iron dagger, quiver, arrows and shield.
WESTERN ASIATIC LURISTAN MASTER OF ANIMALS SCEPTRE FINIAL 13th-7th century BC A bifacial bronze sceptre finial formed as a waisted tube with flared collars, and another with three facing masks, two lateral opposed beasts; mounted on a custom-made stand. 566 grams, 43cm including stand (17"). Very fine condition. Provenance Private collection, acquired by descent 1970s. Literature Cf. Legrain, L. Luristan Bronzes in the University Museum, Pennsylvania, 1934, item 2. Footnotes The sceptres, or so called "standards," epitomise bronzes from Luristan. They are characterised by a high degree of stylisation and conservative iconographical traditions. The major theme on them is that of a male or female figure grasping snarling beasts; subsidiary motifs, especially animal heads, are often appended. The central image of the Master/Mistress of the Beasts has a lengthy Mesopotamian and Elamite history, as well as appearing in Bronze Age Greece. The sceptres seem to have acted as insignia of authority for the elite and one example found in a tomb at Tattulban, Iran, lay next to the head of a male warrior equipped with iron dagger, quiver, arrows and shield.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
