W13

Canaanite large figure of a warrior god

A large and striking bronze or copper solid cast figure of a warrior god. The deity is depicted naked apart from a girdle or broad belt, onto which is attached a dagger; around his neck are two huge torcs. Both arms are raised and his left hand appears to hold part of a shield while his right arm is held back in the striking position and would probably have held a spear. His head is surmounted by a peaked crown with a narrow frontal cross-bar, similar to Egyptian horns of Amun.

Trade, social and artistic links between the Greek world and the Near East are well-documented, but this figure makes an astonishingly close comparison to Greek early Geometric figures such as the important Karditsa "Achilles" from Thessaly, made around one thousand years later.

 Link: http://www.namuseum.gr/collections/bronze/geometriki/geometriki05-en.html

Levant, probably Canaanite, early 2nd Millennium BC

Losses as seen in the photographs, no repairs or restoration.

Size: 13.7 x 4 cms.

Ex. private collection, Norfolk, UK.