Standing Mouflon

  • H-9.8 D-11 W-5.1
Standing Mouflon

Large, arc-shaped horns, a bare head, but long mane on its chest. This silver statuette represents a male mouflon, native to the mountain zones of Western Asia. Its friendly features and cute body-shape may have made it the popular mascot of its day, in the Proto-Elamite period of Ancient South Iran some 5,000 years ago. On its left flank are three engraved four-rayed stars inlaid with precious stones. Might this mouflon, adorned with stars, represent the constellation of Aries?
People saw Aries ascend the eastern sky immediately before sunrise, and knew that a new year of rebirth had arrived. Although it is little weighty, the statue may have been worn on the priest's chest in New Years' rituals. It has a ring attached to its back.