Part of a Throne: Deity on a Bull in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2010

Part of a throne with deity on a bull, late 8th–7th century b.c.; Urartian style
Probably Toprakkale, eastern Anatolia
Bronze
H. 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm)
Dodge Fund, 1950 (50.163)

Urartu was a powerful kingdom that rivaled the Assyrian empire in the first millennium B.C. It extended from northeastern Turkey into northwestern Iran. Its settlements were palace-fortresses that protected agricultural production and supported many crafts, especially an extensive metalworking industry. In the late seventh century B.C., Urartian centers were destroyed by an enemy whose identity remains unknown.

This object, with the lower part of a figure standing along the flanks of a bull, was most likely part of a throne. From better-preserved examples, we know that the figure wore the horned crown of a deity. The whole would have been gilded. A throne and footstool supported by four deities and their animal companions would have been a potent symbol of the Urartian king's power.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/50.163


and

The Kingdom of Urartu

In the early first millennium BC, the kingdom of Urartu dominated much of the mountainous highland region in what is now northeastern Turkey and northwestern Iran. To the south were the Assyrians, whose records of their invasions into Urartian territory provide much of our knowledge of the history and geography of Urartu. The Urartian king Menua (ca. 810-781 BC) and his son Argishti I (ca. 781-760 BC) enlarged the borders and ensured that the kingdom remained powerful until the late seventh century BC. Excavations of fortified cities, temples, and tombs at such sites as Toprak Kale, Karmir Blur, and Altyn Tepe have revealed remains of Urartian material culture: finely crafted bronze helmets, shields, belts, pins, plaques, cauldrons, and gilded furniture attachments, often decorated with supernatural creatures combining human and animal elements. Urartian art exhibits Assyrian and distinctive local traits.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art plaque.