LATE BRONZE AGE, CIRCA 1550-1200 B.C.

Details

A CANAANITE BRONZE DEITY OR WORSHIPPER
LATE BRONZE AGE, CIRCA 1550-1200 B.C.
The slender figure standing with feet together, wearing a long belted robe with thick rolled edge, crowned with a tall conical headdress, a thick necklace and bracelets on each wrist, his right hand raised in a gesture of benediction, left hand held in front, with aquiline nose, smiling mouth, large eyes recessed for inlays and arching brows above, with crystalline surface
11½ in. (29.2 cm.) high

Provenance

H. Palivoda collection, Geneva, acquired circa 1950s; and thence by descent.

Special notice

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Sale room notice

Please note that Lot 144 will be sold after Lot 145.

Please note the date for this lot should read: LATE BRONZE AGE, CIRCA 1550-1200 B.C.

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Lot Essay

Bronze figures such as this probably served a cultic role and were often found in public sanctuaries. This standing figure has parallels with a number of enthroned figures, whose hands are held in benediction, their benign attitude as well as their crowned head associating them with deities rather than mere worshippers. The main deities within the Canaanite pantheon were: El, the creator god, his consort, Athirat, Ba'al the storm god, and his sister, Anat, goddess of hunting and warfare. For similar figures cf. O. Negbi, Canaanite Gods in Metal, Tel Aviv, 1976, pp. 42-45. For enthroned figures cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc. nos 32.18.3 and 32.161.45, for two statues which were both originally covered in gold foil.

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