Finial for a standard in the form of the Master of Animals, one of a pair

The motifs found on Luristan bronzes are surprisingly varied when compared to those of other West Asian cultures. Still, many bronzes from this region, like the finials seen here, feature motifs also seen in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq). In these two finials a central figure grasps the throats of multiheaded beaked creatures. It is likely that the figure represents a “master (or mistress) of animals” who controls nature. While the use of this motif goes back to at least 3000 to 2000 BCE and appears in ancient Mesopotamian and Mediterranean cultures, here it has been interpreted in a new way.