26 - BELT FRAGMENT

BELT FRAGMENT Copper alloy. Cleaned; traces of bronze-preservation wax are visible on the surface. L. 21 cm Urartu, 9th–7th century B.C. Provenance European private collection, acquired on the British art market in the 1990s–2000s Fragment of a bronze belt with repoussé and chiseled decoration, featuring a rich animal and mythological iconography (lions and winged bulls) characteristic of Urartian art. The piece, rectangular in shape with an ornamental upper border featuring openwork geometric motifs, reveals a dense composition of figures in relief: winged mythical creatures, stylized felines, birds of prey, and possible anthropomorphic deities arranged in a continuous band. The motifs are rendered in the aesthetic style characteristic of Urartian bronzes, with marked graphic stylization, bodies shown in profile, and a characteristic aversion to empty space, where every gap is filled with punched rosettes, spirals, or floral motifs. The perforations visible along the borders were used to attach the belt to a textile or leather backing, which has since been lost. These monumental belts, worn by warriors and the elite of the Kingdom of Urartu, served as symbols of power and social status, combining a protective function (the apotropaic symbolism of mythological creatures) with a display of rank. The iconography, drawing on Assyrian models, is characteristic of the court art of the Kingdom of Urartu, centered around Lake Van in eastern Anatolia. For a similar typology, see: MUSCARELLA, O.W., *Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in The Metropolitan Museum of Art*, New York, 1988, p. 433, no. 578. An Urartian Bronze Fragmentary Belt. 9th–7th century BCE. Bronze belt fragment with repoussé and chased decoration, featuring rich animal and mythological iconography (lions, winged bulls) characteristic of Urartian art. The piece, rectangular in shape with an ornamental upper border featuring openwork geometric motifs, reveals a dense composition of relief figures: winged fantastical creatures, stylized felines, birds of prey, and possible anthropomorphic deities arranged in a continuous register. The motifs are rendered in the aesthetic specific to Urartian bronzes, featuring marked graphic stylization, bodies depicted in profile, and a characteristic horror vacui in which every space is filled with punched rosettes, spirals, or floral patterns. The visible perforations along the borders were used to attach the belt to a textile or leather backing, now lost. These monumental belts, worn by warriors and elites of the Kingdom of Urartu, served as symbols of power and social status, combining a protective function (the apotropaic symbolism of mythological creatures) with a display of rank. The iconography, drawing on Assyrian models, belongs to the court art of the Kingdom of Urartu, centered on Lake Van in eastern Anatolia. Comparative reference: MUSCARELLA, O.W., Bronze and Iron, Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, p. 433, no. 578.