Description:

Ancient Near East, northwestern Iran, Luristan, ca. 1000 BCE. A lovely cast bronze openwork cage bell in the form of a pomegranate. Comprised of multiple vertical bars, the ancient instrument presents a stem at the top doubling as a suspension loop, a calyx at the bottom, and a spherical clapper on the interior. The affluent group in Luristan society that patronized the metalworking industry and purchased decorative items like these were nomadic horsemen. They would travel into towns and purchase bronze and iron objects from craftsmen there. Their horses were their livelihood, and we know from scholarship and surviving artifacts that these peoples ornamented their noble steeds as beautifully as they ornamented themselves. This bell likely served as such an ornament, adorning a horse with a musical symbol of fertility and fruitfulness. Size: 2.6" Diameter x 4.1" H (6.6 cm x 10.4 cm)

Although these horsemen were pre-literate, we know from the records of the Elamites and other southern neighbors that they were mercenaries in the constant warfare between the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Elamites.

Cf. the British Museum, museum number 136214 / registration number 1975,0301.3.

Provenance: private Constance McCormick Fearing estate, Montecito, California, USA, acquired before 2004

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#181092

  • Condition: Still functions as a bell. Expected surface wear with nicks, abrasions, and weathering to surface, but otherwise intact and excellent with rich patina and heavy earthen encrustations.

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September 14, 2023 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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