W20

Assyrian or Late Babylonian pottery dog figure

£250

Sorry this item has sold

A finely detailed moulded pottery plaque depicting a seated dog with incised features. The dog has a shaggy mane, round ears and a long tail, the muzzle is more reminiscent of a toy-dog than hunting breed.

Pottery figures of dogs were often found in building foundations or placed in groups of five on either side of an entrance. Their symbolism was primarily as protectors and guardian watch-dogs but depictions of less fearsome breeds such as this suggest a more intimate meaning also. The foundations of a palace for a daughter of king Nabonidus (555-539 BC) at Ur contained a pair of pottery figures of similarly benign seated dogs.

Mesopotamia, Assyrian or Late Babylonian, 9th to 6th Century BC

Some chipping around the base otherwise intact

Size: 7.5 x 5.9 cms

Ex. private collection, New York, USA. Acquired in the US trade.