Late 3rd‐early 2nd millennium B.C.
Lead
H. 26.0 cm, W. 32.4 cm
The depiction of this bull, with its hair expression on the forequarters, bowed down head, and hanging tail, is very close to these elements seen on the bulls in cat. No. 6. This bull has been extremely realistically depicted in lead, from its appropriately formed musculature to its relaxed throat. A rectangular handle is attached to his back, and we can imagine that it was originally used as a weight. There is another lead weight thought to be from the same period as this bull, but this weight is a round disk shape with a line incised image of the same form of ox on its center. Holes are cut above that bull for a rectangular handle, and surrounding it are crenellated patterns drawn in openwork carving. Conversely, here we have a superbly sculpted 3D form.
In the Iran/Bactrian areas which had long carried out basic materials trade with Mesopotamia, they used the decimal system which was simpler than the sexagesimal system used in Mesopotamia. The unit for this Bactrian weight system was approximately, 0.86 g and since this bull weighs 10,430 grams, then we can see that it was a 12,000 unit weight. There are weights of half this weight known from the Indus Valley region and Bactria.
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