Vessel with a bull attacked by a lion

  • Pre-Achaemenid Period
  • 8th-6th centuries BC
  • 8th to 7th centuries B.C.
  • Silver, gold
  • H-14.7 D-9.5 W-24.5
Vessel with a bull attacked by a lion

The wounded bull is extremely serene, looking more as though the lion was embracing him. This vessel symbolizes the order of the cosmos, as the two animals represent water and fire. It may have been used in a secret ritual where holy liquid was sprinkled through the bull's nostrils. The same symbolism was also used in the palace of the later Persian capital of Persepolis.