Ancient Near East, Eastern Anatolia (modern-day Turkey / Armenia), Urartu culture, ca. 9th to 7th century BCE. A wonderful ensemble of 3 bronze belt fragments, each adorned with low relief decoration and a row of petite drill holes for attachment along one periphery. The largest of the 3 displays a column of winged horses flanked by 2 columns of abstract and floral designs, all enveloped by a swirling motif border above and below. Next, the clearest of the 3 - thanks to a pretty light green patina that provides contrast - is embellished by a decoration of lions and palmettes divided by lines of dots. The last shows men on horseback carrying swords amongst floral and whirling patterns. Size (of largest): 3.9" W x 4" H (9.9 cm x 10.2 cm)

Bronze belts bearing repeated motifs of gods, hunting scenes, animals, and geometric and floral patterns are one of the most enduring remains of the Urartian Kingdom, which stretched from the Euphrates in the west to Iran in the East. Their military success has been attributed to their chariots, and their artwork, like this belt, attests to this. This is fascinating as chariots had only recently been invented, and how they built them and how many they actually built remain mysteries.

Cf. the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 52.123.

Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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#134694

All 3 are fragments of larger pieces. The fragment with lions is repaired from 2 pieces with break line visible. All have expected nicks, chips, abrasions, and losses commensurate with age. Otherwise, all are very nice with impressive remaining detail and lovely patina throughout.