Figure of a Bull
North Caucasus, Maikop Burial Mound
3rd millenium BC
Gold
H 6 cm
This naturalistic figure of a bull is cast in gold with engraved details, its forehead decorated with horns tilting forward and its knees slightly bent. There is a round hole running vertically through the back and the figure must have been threaded onto a hollow rod made of silver and gold. Found in the burial mound along with this bull were just such rods and another three bulls (one in silver and two of gold). These formed a frame to support the canopy set up over the body of the chief.
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