A cross for the bull-man
Artifact: Bronze cross
Provenience: Assur
Period: Middle Assyrian period (ca. 1400-1000 BC)
Current location: Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, Germany
Text genre, language: Royal/Monumental; Akkadian
CDLI page
Description: The importance of this hoard found in the area of the Ashur-temple in Assur is not the text inscribed on the larger bronze cross, but the uniqueness of this find on the one hand and the relation between imagery and text. The hoard consisted among others of two crosses, two cylinder seals, a golden platelet, which depicts the human chest in relief as well as a second rectangular golden platelet with a depiction of the bull-man holding a standard in front of him. This mythological being is known as Kusarikku and this term is referred to in the text inscribed on the larger bronze cross. The text is dedicated to this being and was commissioned by the brewer of the Eshara-temple. Crosses are not uncommon in the imagery of Kassite cylinder seals. (Klaus Wagensonner, University of Oxford)
Editions: Klengen-Brandt, E. and J. Marzahn, "Ein Hortfund mit Kreuzen aus Assur," Baghdader Mitteilungen 28, 209 - 38, pll. 16 - 27.
