SculptureSyro-Hittite2nd millennium BCE

God Standing on a Quadruped

late 13th-early 12th century BCE

Description

This very stylized figure, probably representing a deity, stands on the back of a quadruped. The deity’s head is slightly upraised and turned to his left. He wears a conical hat. The facial features are large and simple—there are raised ovals indicating eyes, a large triangular nose, and a wide horizontal cut for the mouth. The head is oblong, and the chin is wide. The ears, semi-circular and protruding from the sides of the head, have circular holes through them for the insertion of something, probably objects representing earrings (perhaps in another material). The body is very simplified and not naturalistic. The neck is very long, thick, and cylindrical; the torso is short, with bendy arms emerging from the sides. The left arm is held out and curved at chest height, with a hole through the top and bottom, possibly to hold a staff or attach a shield; the right arm is bent at the elbow and held up, with a transverse hole through the hand, possibly to hold a spear or club. The figure wears a wide belt around his midsection and possibly a kilt down to the knees. The figure stands on top of an animal with his right leg forward and left leg back. The animal is also very simply rendered, with triangle ears bent back, raised ovals for eyes, and an open mouth. Its forelimbs are joined together and curve backward; the hindlimbs are also joined together, moving forward, and the legs are joined where the animal’s paws or hooves would be. The animal and the deity look in different directions.

Classification

Sculpture

Technique

Cast, lost-wax process

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Syro-Hittite

Period

Iron Age

Century

2nd millennium BCE