Bactrian Royal Head

This beautiful terracotta head was made in one of Central Asia’s most dynamic and fascinating periods, when the mighty forces of east and west were coming into full contact in the wake of Alexander’s Empire. It bears characteristics of both endemic (Afghanistan and Bactria) and western (Greek and Mediterranean) styles. The piece is truncated at the neck, and would onece have been part of a large sculpture or a frieze. The face is naturalistic, with full cheeks, a high forehead, sensitive lips and a long nose. The brows are tendered geometrically, as are the eyes, which have more in common with the eastern aesthetic in their schematic reductivism. The ears are pierced with thick rings, beneath a coiffure comprised of carefully--arranged waves and ringlets. The head is tipped very slightly to the right, lending a reflective sensitivity.

Sassanid Bronze Sculpture of a Horse -- FZ.357

Mirror of All Ages and Cultures 58 Brook Street, London W1K 5DT –United Kingdom-Tel: 0044 20 7493 7778-Fax: 0044 20 7493 9593 941 N La Cienega Blvd, California 90096-Tel: 001 310 859 8408 58-4 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea 03053, +821034973413 www.barakatgallery.com barakat@barakatgallery.com Origin: Central Asia Circa: 400 AD to 700 AD Dimensions: 3.625" (9.2cm) high Collection: Near Eastern Medium: Bronze Price: £48,000.00 The term Sassanid or Sassanian refers to the Persian dynasty (A.D. 224--651) and last line of Persian kings before the Arab conquest. The Sassanian era was marked by wars against Romans, Armenians, and Huns and by the revival of Zoroastrianism, an ancient Persian religion founded in the 6th Century B.C. This bronze horse reveals the fine craftsmanship of Sassanian artisans whose work rivals the quality of the finest Greek or Roman bronzes. All four legs of the horse are bent inwardly with their round, flaring hooves as it gallops away in a furry of movement. The body is well modeled complete with a thick, curving tail. The horse has been bridled and wears a thickly cushioned saddle on its back. The saddle blanket has been decorated with a cross-- hatched pattern and lozenge--shaped saddle bags fall on either side. Perhaps the most attentive detail is the fact that none of the horse’s feet touch the ground. Frozen in full stride, the horse gallops and appears as if flying. This fact was forgotten until 1877 when photographer Eadweard Muybridge demonstrated through his stop--motion technique that when a horse runs, there is a moment when all of the animal's feet are off the ground, and that the feet are tucked beneath the animal at that moment. How much more impressive that the Sassanian artist responsible for this horse was aware of a detail we know only know through the creation of the camera

Mirror of All Ages and Cultures 58 Brook Street, London W1K 5DT –United Kingdom-Tel: 0044 20 7493 7778-Fax: 0044 20 7493 9593 941 N La Cienega Blvd, California 90096-Tel: 001 310 859 8408 58-4 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea 03053, +821034973413 www.barakatgallery.com barakat@barakatgallery.com Ziwiye Glazed Terracotta Jar -- X.0199 (LSO) Origin: Central Asia Circa: 800 BC to 700 BC Dimensions: 11" (27.9cm) high Collection: Near Eastern Medium: Glazed Terracotta Price: £180,000.00 The items recovered at Ziwiye are interesting for a number of reasons, not least because it was at this time that the technological process for producing glazed ceramics seems to have reached its apogee. Glaze is simply a thin layer of glass that covers terracotta works of art, a process originally devised some four thousands years earlier in the ancient Near East. However, it would be many thousand of years later until the art of glassmaking was finally perfected on a large scale-- a process believed to have occurred in the lands of northern Mesopotamia around 1600 B.C.

This stunning, colourful vessel is a vibrant example of the new glazing technique. The entire exterior surfaced has been coated in vibrant blue, orange, and white hues, all colour fields being defined by thick black outlines. Both the upper shoulder of the vessel as well as the lower half of the tapering body have been adorned with a series of angular petals.