6th-5th century BC. An ivory figure of a bull, depicted recumbent with forelegs folded beneath the body, short curving horns and stylised details to the muscles and body; a cylindrical column projecting from the back of the neck with circumferential ribbing; mounted on a custom-made display stand. See Rawlinson, G.M.A., The five great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern World, III vol., New York, 1881; Schmidt, E.F., Structures, reliefs, inscriptions, Chicago, 1953; Schmidt, E.F., Persepolis II, Contents of the Treasury and other discoveries, Oriental Institute Publications Volume LXIX, Chicago, 1957; for similar images of recumbent bulls, see Kozloff, A.P., Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection, Cleveland, 1981, p.40, no.28, and the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, inv. no. 42.221. 592 grams total, 20.2cm including stand (8"). Property of a London gentleman; before that in the private collection of a Kensington collector; previously in the collection of Mrs Petra Schamelman, Breitenbach, Germany; acquired from the collection of Fernand Adda, formed in the 1920s; accompanied by an archaeological expertise by Dr. Raffaele D’Amato; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.10769-178146. The bull was a very important symbol for the ancient Persians. Being such a powerful animal, it represented the power, more specifically, the strength of the Š?hanš?h (King of Kings) and of the empire. The motif of the recumbent bull was a favourite one within the Achaemenid Empire. It is enough to remember the colossal statues of the guardian bulls flanking the portico of the hundred-columned Throne Hall at Persepolis, which were presented in a similar recumbent position, or the magnificent torsos of bulls from palace G at Persepolis (Schmidt, 1957, pl.192"). One of the most commonly used capitals of the Persepolis architecture were those with the recumbent double-bulls, sometimes coated with gold (Schmidt, 1953, p.36, fig.44), carved in stone and wood (Schmidt, 1953, p.257, fig.44"). This small ivory bull was most probably part of a furniture item, throne or vessel: it is interesting to compare it with the image of the Syrian dignitaries on the eastern stairway of the Apadana at Persepolis, offering vessels having handles embellished with delicately wrought winged bulls, whose reversed heads with horns are curving upward and projected above the rim (Schmidt, 1957, pl.70"). But even more interesting is the throne of Darius I in the Persepolis treasury (Schmidt, 1953, pl.121-123), where the king is seated upon a chair fitted with footrest, the legs of which are modelled in the form of bull’s legs. Small sculptures of bulls in blue composition were found in the detritus of the portico of the main hall at Persepolis (Schmidt, 1953, p.131"). [A video of this lot can be viewed on the Timeline Auctions website]