SculptureIranian10th-8th century BCE

Master of the Animals Finial

10th-8th century BCE

Description

This “master of animals” finial depicts a stylized man with an (attacking?) animal on each side. The man has a fungiform cap, open at the center for insertion of a pin. The man, who is janiform (having the same face on front and back), has open, circular eyes, molded brows, and a prominent triangular nose. His mouth is two raised lines, and his jaw is rounded. He has small, rounded ears high on his head, partially obscured by the mouths of the animals. The only other part of his body that is possibly visible is the belt encircling his waist, bordered on the top and bottom by raised bands (although, since the bodies of the animals are not visible here, it may be decorative). The animals press their midsections against the man, clutching him with their forepaws, heads raised and mouths open directly next to his head. The animals have curved ears, wide eyes, furrowed heads and snouts, and mouths open revealing large canines. Their forelimbs are pressed flat to his body, with their paws encircling his neck. The bodies disappear beneath the belt at the waist and then reappear below the belt with prominent hindquarters and bent legs. While rendered rather flatly on the front, their bodies are very raised on the side, creating an hourglass shape. They have long tails curling into a double spiral. The end of the cylinder has molded lines on one side. A thin strip of metal separating the hindlimbs of the animals may be the body of the man (or reinforcing—it is broken at the bottom on one side).

Classification

Sculpture

Technique

Cast, lost-wax process

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Iranian

Period

Iron Age

Century

10th-8th century BCE