SculptureIranian10th-8th century BCE

Master of the Animals Finial

10th-8th century BCE

Description

This simple, tube-like “master of animals” finial depicts a stylized man with a feline pressed close on each side. The man, who is janiform (having the same face on front and back), has semicircular, cauliflower ears (possibly animal ears) with two to three horizontal lines on their sides. His eyes are perhaps closed, rendered with two large lids and little space between them. His nose is large and triangular, his cheeks are puffed out, and his chin is very pointed. Instead of a cap, the top of his head is flat, with a hole in the center for insertion of a pin. Nothing else is distinguishable about the man’s body—only a plain cylinder appears under the animals. The animals are symmetrical to each other. They are pressed flat against the man, ears back, large eyes on the side of the head, and noses pressed to his shoulders. The animals’ forelegs are visible pressed closely to their sides. The hindlimbs are more bulbous at the hip, tapering down the leg, and ending in paws that are also flattened against the front. The top view of the animals (on the side of the finial) is in relief, high at the head and hindquarters and raised at the shoulders. The animals have long, straight tails ending in single spirals.

Classification

Sculpture

Technique

Cast, lost-wax process

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Iranian

Period

Iron Age

Century

10th-8th century BCE