Galerie Golconda

The summit of a double sided standard finial called a ‘Janus’ representing the deified King Gilgamesh as the master of animals. Bronze with green patina and dioxide background. This piece was made using the lost wax method. As alloys of copper and tin, ancient bronzes contain between 6 and 10% of tin and fuse at a temperature of 1000-1100°C. Good state of preservation with a lovely crusted patina from excavation.
On the borders of the Mesopotamian plain in the remote mountains of Western Iran, a culture of which little is known, produced magnificent pieces in bronze which attest to an evolved technical ability and workmanship. Since the 1960’s, excavations have succeeded in discovering the two cities of Surkh Dum and Baba Jan, several funerary complexes and what seem to be sanctuaries. Due to difficulties of excavation, we still have limited knowledge of this society and its way of life. Similar iconographic codes between Mesopotamia and Babylonia were found, which hints to their cultural ties and commercial trade. Known as the “canonical bronzes”, the most original objects date between 1150 and 750 B.C., although the metalworking of Luristan is attested to have begun from the 3^rd millennium B.C.Gilgamesh, the powerful King of Uruk who was two thirds divine, tyrannized his subjects. He is the hero of five Sumerian myths illuminating the genesis of his epic, based on the recurring theme of death.