EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD, CIRCA EARLY TO MID 3RD MILLENNIUM B.C.

During the third millennium B.C., sculptors in Mesopotamia learned to cast metal figures via the lost-wax technique, using an alloy composed primarily of copper and arsenic, and frequently achieved extraordinary results, reflecting a keen observation of nature. Various animals were depicted, including bulls, which were imbued with a sacred character, their images symbolic of vigor and fecundity. The pair presented here display bulky bodies on thick legs, the hooves and dewclaws accurately rendered. Their heads have short muzzles, small projecting ears, and enormous curved horns. The eyes are recessed and may once have been inlaid. Closest in style is an example now in the Louvre, the surface of which is further enhanced with silver inlays evoking fur (see no. 314 in J. Aruz, ed., Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus). See also the bull head in Berlin (no. 42 in Aruz, op. cit). For another similar, yoked and being lead by a man, see no. 2 in D. Freeman, ed., Splendors of the Ancient East, Antiquities from the al-Sabah Collection.