2009.14 Humped bull (zebu, or Bos indicus)

The earliest developed civilization on the Indian subcontinent, marked by agriculture, cities, crafts, writing, and a multi-class social system, was centered on the five branches of the Indus River in what is now Pakistan and northwest India. The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro show connections with contemporary civilizations in the Near East. For instance, this type of bull, the ancestor of modern Brahma bulls, appears in both Mesopotamian and Indus valley art. These contacts probably reflect lively trade along the Persian Gulf. The bull is a type of votive offering often found in Indus Valley sites, although it appears as an image on seals. Since farming was the basis of these early people's wealth, animals are a subject of their art.

Anne Bromberg, "Humped bull (zebu, or Bos indicus)" in The Arts of India, South East Asia, and the Himalayas (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), 30.

Until 2009: Stefaan Grusenmeyer, Bangkok, Thailand

2009: Douglas Dawson, Chicago, Illinois, purchased from above

2009: Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Douglas Dawson Gallery, Chicago, Illinois

The main source for this provenance is the correspondence between Douglas Dawson and Carol Griffin dated January 25, 2012 in the Collections Records object file.

Apply to objects where number equals 2009.14