Rare Ancient Bronze Mountain Goat Amulet, Iran, Luristan #1941BCE

Description

Most ethnic Luristan (Lorestan) Iron Age bronzes were small items found in the the Zagros Mountains valleys in Lorestan Province, Western Iran. Other items found included tools, small vessels and horse-fittings, many  buried with the deceased as ancestral pieces for use in their afterlife. Although their origin is not certain, they were likely Persians related to the modern Iranian Lur people. Early pieces date to the late 2^nd millennium BCE, and most scholars agree on dates of 1000-600 BCE for items like this one. They are the surviving ritual art of nomadic people who had mostly portable possessions along with weapons, tent-poles, sleeping and eating gear, and other bare necessities. Their entire wealth was quickly packed and transported by horses often on short notice. Animal images are common, especially long-horn goats and sheep which were generally thin, inventive, and very distinctive. Small charms have a loop on the back to be suspended and worn as spiritual jewelry, personal adornment, a votive or ritual animal fetish or hung as a charm or amulet on a horse to bring luck and provide hunters success in their hunt. Mounted on a Lucite stand, this is in excellent condition and has a fine aged patina considering its age and burial.

Sources:

Encyclopedia Iranica, “The Bronzes of Luristan”

Edith Porada, “The Bronzes of Luristan,” Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University

Iranciaonline, “Bronzes of Luristan”

Jane C. Waldbaum, Luristan Bronzes, Princeton, Princeton University Art Museum, Vol. 32, No.2, 1973, pp. 8-15.