Bronze base British Museum GR 1946, 1017.1

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Bronze base

The bronze base British Museum GR 1946,1017.1 (see also cult car ) probably comes from Cyprus and dates to the Late Bronze Age (approx. 1250–1100 BC). It is about 31 cm high and 15 cm wide. The exact location of the object is not known, but the island of Cyprus can at least be assumed as the place of manufacture.

The base has four wheels and may once have carried a wine or water vessel, perhaps also an incense burner . The base is well preserved, but parts of the ring that forms the upper end are missing and parts of the decoration have also broken off in the lower area. The ring at the top shows alternately a lion, which in turn attacks another creature, perhaps a human, next to grazing animals. The main fields show four different scenes. A sphinx is depicted on one side . The image of a lion appears on the opposite side. The third field shows a chariot with two horses. There is a charioteer and another person in the car, who may or may not be a heroic figureDeity acts. The fourth scene shows two characters playing a lyre , a third person holds a vessel to his mouth. Finally, in the lower registers you can see dolphins, fish and water birds.

Numerous artistically and technically high-quality bronze works come from the Late Bronze Age in Cyprus , including tripods , statues, but also four-sided vessel bases with rich figural decorations. This saucer in the British Museum is one of the masterpieces of this group.

The object was bequeathed to the museum in 1946 . It is said to have been acquired by Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch , in the middle of the 19th century . An acquisition in Cyprus is likely.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas Kiely: Wheeled Vessel Stand. In: Joan Aruz, Sarah Graff, Yelena Rakic ​​(eds.): Assyria to Iberia: At the Dawn of the Classical Age. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York / New Haven 2014, ISBN 978-0-300-20808-5 , pp. 28–29, No. 2.
  2. ^ Louise Steel: Cyprus before History . Duckworth, London 2004, ISBN 0-7156-3164-0 , p. 209.
  3. ^ British Museum: vessel-stand / stand Museum number 1946,1017.1

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